The Long Road Home
by Lysander's Pen
Summary: Deciding that it was time to put the past behind him, Walter turned to Florence. Of course, it won't be that simple. Eventual Waige, cyclone reunion (but it's going to take time, folks).
1. Moving On

**A/N: Hey all. I've been away from this site for a long time, but this cancellation was absolutely brutal. My brain couldn't let it be, and I couldn't just give up on the cyclone. So, here we go.**

 **Right now, the first six chapters are written, and amount to part one of the story. They take place around three months after that last scene at Gettleman's office. I'll post them in fairly quick succession, including the first two tonight. I know everyone is going to hate the way this first chapter ends, so I'm adding the second one immediately to give more of an idea of where we're going here. As the summary indicates, this is an _eventual_ Waige story, not a quick-fix.**

 **I hope you all enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: _Scorpion_ , with all of its characters, plots, and settings, is the property of CBS. Only the plot of this story is mine.**

 **Chapter 1: Moving On**

Walter did his best to focus on the hand that lay on his chest. Then he focused on the forearm that the hand was connected to, and the elbow. That elbow was connected to a shoulder, which was part of a beautiful woman.

A beautiful woman that wasn't Paige.

He felt her eyes on him, but didn't look at her. Whenever he did, especially in the morning, it felt like she could read his every emotion. Not that she didn't already know what he was feeling.

She waited another moment, then sighed and rolled onto her back beneath the sheet, looking up at the ceiling. "We don't have any meetings today."

It was a statement that was much heavier than it sounded. Scorpion 2.0 was failing, although Walter was far from ready to say it aloud. Centipede was getting the vast majority of the business opportunities that sprang up. Of course, that was perfectly logical, as Centipede boasted two-thirds of what had made Scorpion so great.

That, and Paige was an extremely aggressive and brilliant marketer, especially when she knew she was competing against Scorpion 2.0.

Florence sighed again. "You're thinking about her." It wasn't a question. She kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling.

He didn't reply immediately, and instead moved his hand over to her arm, tracing a vein with his fingers. She didn't flinch or show any visible discomfort at his lack of denial. "Yes." Then he lifted his head and rolled over onto his side, facing her. "But I'm here with you, and that's not changing."

Now she looked back at him. "How romantic."

He allowed himself a half-smile at her sarcasm. "Florence, as things stand right now, I'm yours. I—"

"Stop." She rolled over so that she was facing him, keeping the sheet to her chest. She preferred to remain modest in the morning, and she was less comfortable with her body than Paige was. Walter felt that it was unnecessary. She didn't have the conventional beauty that Paige did, but in her own way, she was extremely attractive.

He waited for her to say something more. When she didn't, he spoke again. "I'm sorry. I know you have romantic feelings for me, and I—"

"Walter." She interrupted him again. "I don't need romance. I'm a chemist, I know how emotions work."

She had said that to him no fewer than three times by now, and he decided to try a cheeky response. "But you're not a neurochemist."

She was not amused, and, honestly, he wasn't either. It was a terrible attempt.

She sat up. "Cabe will be here soon. Hopefully he'll have something."

Walter sighed, looking at the ceiling. He wasn't about to get his hopes too high. Cabe was slowly restoring his reputation with DHS, but Carson had been itching for an excuse to cut back on Scorpion's contract ever since the softball bet had blown up in his face, and even he knew that Centipede now had the majority of Scorpion's assets. Paige, who had done an excellent job of maintaining her rapport with the organization, even through all of the others' blunders and despite Carson himself, had managed to land a contract for Centipede at somewhat less pay, giving Carson the perfect excuse to sharply cut down the amount of work that Scorpion 2.0 received from the department.

Florence was now dressed and heading for the door. "I'm going for a run. Text me if Cabe has anything."

"I feel like I should go with you."

"You probably should, but see if Cabe has anything first."

Walter wondered if she really felt as optimistic as she sounded.

* * *

"Alright. Thanks, Pete. I appreciate you looking into it." Walter looked over as Cabe hung up the phone. "No dice."

Walter was finding that he had a more and more diminished capacity for disappointment each time an opportunity fell through. He was anticipating failure, and that was an unsettling thought. A man with his IQ should never have to anticipate failure.

The door opened, and he looked over as Florence walked in. She had been gone longer than expected, but he hadn't registered it until now. "Hey. Any news?"

"I'm afraid not," Cabe replied.

Florence gave a slight nod, not looking the least bit surprised. "Alright. I'm going to shower."

Walter watched as she crossed the garage and climbed the stairs. Not for the first time, he was impressed by her remarkable ability to take everything in stride, and not just when it came to the loss of work.

Once she was out of sight, Cabe looked over. "She certainly seems at home up there."

"She's just going to take a shower."

"When was the last time she took a shower at her own place?"

Walter frowned at the question. Florence wasn't staying here all the time. As he started to respond, however, Cabe's phone rang. He quickly shut his mouth and watched the phone eagerly as Cabe answered.

"Cabe Gallo. Hey, Allie."

His heart sank a little. Not a job. Tuning out the sound of Cabe talking to his fiancé, he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temple. There had to be something. He checked his email. Not so much as a piece of spam since the last time he had checked.

"Really? Well, that sounds nice… I could… Hang on, I'll check with the boss." Cabe covered the phone and looked over at Walter. "Allie's been given the day off, and she… well, since we don't have anything going on today, she's wondering if I can…"

"Go ahead."

"Are you sure? I can—"

"Cabe, go. I don't have anything for you to do."

"Alright." Cabe took his hand off the phone. "I'm on my way. See you soon… I love you too." He hung up and stood, then made for the exit. As he passed Walter's desk, he slowed down. "I'll let you know if I hear anything. I'd invite you to come along, but this is an adventure for two."

Walter forced a smile. "I appreciate that. Go be with your fiancé."

Cabe quickly glanced over at the stairs, then lowered his voice. "Listen, about her." He nodded over towards the stairs. "I don't fully know what's going on between you two, and I don't want to. But you better be honest about it, both with her and with yourself."

Walter's first instinct was to resent the advice, but he knew that Cabe was just trying to help. He nodded. "Thanks."

Cabe walked the rest of the way to the door, but it opened before he touched it. "You should be in school, young man."

Walter frowned as Ralph entered. Was everything okay?

"Hi, Cabe. It's good to see you, too." Ralph looked over at Walter and waved. Walter waved back. It didn't look like there was any imminent crisis.

"What are you doing here?" Cabe persisted, putting his hands in his pockets.

"You do know that I'm smarter than my professors are, right?"

"That doesn't give you the right to skip school."

"I didn't say I had a right. I came to see how Walter is doing."

Walter couldn't help but smile at this.

Cabe had a similar reaction, and it cracked right through his sternness. "Alright. But you better get back to school when you're done talking."

"I will. I promise." Ralph walked over to Walter's desk, grabbing the chair from the vacant desk that had once belonged to Toby. Cabe watched him go for a moment, then left, and Ralph set the chair down next to Walter's desk.

"You've gotten taller," said Walter.

Ralph nodded. "And my voice has almost stopped cracking, finally. It's nice to finally start to look as old as I feel."

Walter recalled feeling the same way through much of his adolescence.

"I think I'm going to start lifting weights."

This was surprising. "Do you feel that you need to?"

"I can build complex machines, but I might be in trouble if I can't move them around."

That made sense. Walter had never needed to be too physically powerful, especially with Sylvester around.

"Besides, I have an understanding of physics that will help me lift heavier weights than someone else my size. That should help with impressing girls."

"I had a similar idea once, and it ended badly. Be careful."

"I will."

"So, does this mean that you're over Patty?"

Ralph gave a small shrug, looking down. "Pretty much. It'll be easier once she goes off to college, and I'm not seeing her when I'm at the high school, but… Like Mom keeps saying, there will be other girls."

Walter felt a small weight fall on his gut. "How is your mom?"

Ralph's eyes widened as he realized what he had just said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring her up. She's… well, she's fine… I think. I mean… she's still single."

Walter hadn't been looking for that, but it felt good to hear nonetheless.

Ralph looked away for a moment, falling silent. Then he looked back at Walter. "We were a great team."

The good feeling quickly dissipated. "We were."

"I don't mean Scorpion. I mean you, me, and Mom. And I want you to know that I don't blame you for what happened."

"You shouldn't blame her, either. It wasn't—"

"I know, it wasn't anyone's fault. You two… You were just a little too different, just like Patty and I were."

Walter swallowed. Sometimes it felt better to think that it was someone's fault, even if it was his own. He didn't like to think that things would have ended naturally, and he wasn't sure that he and Paige were too different. Until the end, their differences had seemed like a strength.

There was a noise from the stairs, and they both looked over as Florence began to descend. She spotted Ralph when she was about halfway down, and froze. "Hi, Ralph. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks. How are you?"

"I'm fine." She looked at Walter uncertainly, and he beckoned. Descending the rest of the stairs, she cautiously approached the desk. "Um, can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you."

She looked at Walter.

"No, thanks." Walter was focused on Ralph's over-the-top politeness to Florence. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to have her join them.

"So, what have you been working on?" Ralph asked her, before Walter could suggest that she give them another moment.

He watched Ralph's face as Florence launched into an explanation of her latest project. Again, Ralph looked perfectly polite and attentive. Walter wished that Toby were here to tell him if there was anything beneath Ralph's outwardly pleasant attitude.

He tried to imagine how he would act if he were in Ralph's position. Ralph had been sitting and talking with the man who might have become his step-dad, only to be interrupted by the woman who had come between his mom and said potential step-dad. Walter didn't think that he would have been so polite under the circumstances.

Then again, Walter hadn't had Paige Dineen for a mother. Paige had taught Ralph everything that she had also taught Walter, and he was certainly better prepared for social interactions than Walter had been at his age. Perhaps Ralph had Paige's voice echoing in his ears, urging him to be polite to Florence.

"That sounds really cool," said Ralph.

"I'm glad you think so," Florence replied. Her face was considerably brighter, as it always was when she was talking about chemistry.

Ralph turned to Walter. "Hey, I've got an idea. I want to program a—"

The door to the garage opened more noisily than it had before, and in walked none other than Paige, looking angry. "Ralph Dineen, you better have a very good explanation for ditching school."

"Um, hi, Mom."

Initially, Walter didn't let himself look at her for more than a moment. He was unprepared, and whenever he was unprepared, the sight of her affected him more than he wanted it to. He looked at his desk for a moment, then at Florence. She returned his look, and he finally looked at Paige.

"How did you know?" Ralph asked.

"Professor Freeman called me when you didn't show up for class. If I'm going to pay for you to take college classes, the least you can do is show up for them."

"How did you know I was here?"

"That part was obvious. Are you a genius or not?"

Ralph looked at Walter. Walter returned the look, then nodded towards Paige. "You should head back to school. Thank you for stopping by."

Ralph sighed and stood, heading towards the door. "Any time."

"He means any time after school hours," said Paige, her eyes still fixed on her son. "And after his punishment ends." She watched as he walked past her out the door, then turned to go after him. Pausing for a moment, she looked over at Florence. "Good to see you." Then she left.

Walter stared at the door. She hadn't looked at him once. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, and he wasn't even sure what being a good thing meant in this context.

"Are you okay?" Florence's voice came from significantly closer than she had been before. A moment later, he felt her hand on his shoulder, and looked up at her.

"Yes."

Strangely enough, that felt mostly honest. Ralph's visit had felt wonderful, and that feeling wasn't dampened much by Paige's anger and refusal to look at him.

He placed his hand over hers, then stood. Turning fully towards her, he met her concerned gaze for a few seconds, then placed his hand on her hip. "Listen, I know you're always saying you don't need romance, but… Can I take you out to dinner tonight?"

She looked confused, and didn't reply immediately. When she did reply, it wasn't the response that he was expecting. "Should I be concerned that this is your reaction after seeing her again?"

"No, it's not about… Florence, it's time. I really like being with you. And you say you don't need romance, but… From what I've observed, everyone needs romance sometimes. And I know I don't requite the precise feelings that you have for me, but it's becoming increasingly apparent to me that feelings change over time, sometimes dramatically."

Again, her reply was delayed and unexpected. "You've really gotten better at communicating, haven't you?"

He considered the comment. It had happened out of necessity. Without Paige around, he had needed to learn to be much more articulate in his presentations and on jobs. Perhaps he had been using her as a crutch to avoid developing his own social skills. "Yes. So, will you go out with me tonight?"

She cracked a smile at this most basic phrasing of the question. "Okay, Walter."


	2. The Beginning

**A/N: Here's Chapter 2. The story is entirely from Walter's perspective, which is fun to write. With his low EQ, he's only a partially-reliable narrator, but I try at the same time to make him as relatable as I can, like the show writers tried to do. I think I do a better job of striking the right balance between relatability and hot mess of social ineptitude as we go along. It's difficult to build momentum in a narrative with a character who struggles with communication, so I apologize if he feels perhaps a little too evolved early on.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: See the one in the previous chapter.**

 **Chapter 2: The Beginning**

A week after Ralph's visit, Walter sat in Nemos's diner, in the exact spot where Ralph had been sitting when they first met. He held a salt shaker in one hand and a pepper shaker in the other, and his mind relived the chess match that had been the first indication of the boy's genius.

That had been the start of everything. If Walter hadn't seen a younger version of himself in the boy, he never would have invited Paige to become part of Scorpion, and he never would have fallen in love with her.

Throughout every phase of his relationship with Paige, his relationship with Ralph had been constant. He had tried hard to be a father-figure for the boy, and he saw Ralph's visit last week as evidence of his success at that. Now he was beginning to realize that, as much as his interest in Paige had helped drive his relationship with her son, his interest in Ralph had helped drive his relationship with her.

"About time, O'Brien." Walter spun around and saw Toby sitting at the table behind him, drinking a coffee. Once he was spotted, Toby grabbed his coffee and stood up, moving over to the bar beside Walter.

"Hello, Toby." Walter had no idea what to think. This had to be a coincidence, right? But since when did Toby stop at Nemos's for coffee?

"When I heard Ralph visited you last week, I had a feeling you'd wind up here. I'll admit, though, it took you longer than I predicted, especially since Scorpion 2.0 isn't getting that much work these days."

Walter chose to ignore the dig at his company. "You were waiting for me?"

"It's a good thing you finally showed up. Nemos was starting to think I was becoming a regular here."

"If you wanted to talk, why didn't you just call?"

"Well, you know, making a phone call ain't always the easiest thing to do. Takes a certain amount of… swallowing of the pride."

"Was that the beginning of an apology?"

Toby stayed silent for a moment. "And they say I'm the behaviorist." He took a sip of his coffee, and clearly didn't enjoy it.

"How did you know I would come here?"

"Because I know how you think. After Ralph visited you, you had what felt like an epiphany about your relationship with you-know-who. You're unable to get over her, and that proud genius mind of yours is desperate to figure out a way. Ergo, attribute everything to the boyo." He gestured to the salt and pepper shakers that Walter was still holding. "But you couldn't be sure, so you did what every confused mind does when it's trying to solve a problem: You began by retracing your steps."

Walter took a second or two to consider Toby's words. "And do think the… epiphany… is correct? Do you think the whole thing was about Ralph all along?"

"That's between you, the mother, and the son."

"You're an expert behaviorist. I'm asking for your professional opinion."

"And I'm not giving it to you. Some things you have to figure out for yourself, 197."

Walter looked at the salt and pepper shakers for a moment, before placing them back on the bar. Then he quickly returned them to their proper locations, recalling that Nemos was a stickler about it. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Happy and I are finalizing the adoption. We want you and Cabe to be there."

Walter smiled at this. He had wondered how the adoption process had been going, but hadn't felt like he was able to call and ask. This was… moving. "We?"

"Yes, the missus wants you there, too. And we've already told Sly and you-know-who that the two of you are coming."

"They're okay with it?"

"Sly is. But it's not their decision, it's ours." Toby placed a hand on Walter's shoulder. "You're still family, O'Brien. And lord knows Cabe is still going to be like a grandfather to our little girl, regardless of who's working for what company."

"It's a girl?"

"It's a girl. Her name's Maria. She's fourteen months old, and from the Philippines. The most beautiful little angel you'll ever meet."

"Congratulations."

"Thanks, man."

"I'll definitely be there. And you know Cabe wouldn't miss it for the world." It occurred to Walter that the other person in his life would probably have to skip this happy occasion. "I… I'm… Florence and I are dating now."

"I'm happy for you. She can't come."

"Yeah, I know."

* * *

The little girl's gaze was fixed on her new mother. Walter wondered what thoughts might be going through her tiny brain, and to what extent she might understand that the man whose lap she was seated on, and the woman whom she was staring at, were the people who would take care of her from now on, and whom she would look to for all of the critical lessons that she would need in life.

Toby and Happy, for their parts, were alternating looks between the judge and the little girl who was about to be their daughter. The judge was going through the formalities, but everyone in the room knew that he wasn't the center of attention right now.

Sylvester, Paige, and Ralph sat in the front row behind Happy and Toby, until Ralph got up and walked two rows back to where Walter and Cabe were sitting. Paige watched him get up and walk away, but never looked towards his destination. Walter smiled a little as Ralph sat down beside him.

"I'm glad you came," the boy said quietly.

"I couldn't miss this," Walter replied.

"She's incredibly lucky, isn't she? She gets to have two genius parents who are always going to be there for her."

Walter didn't miss the oddity in Ralph's tone as he said this. Was that… jealousy? "Have you heard from your father lately?"

"He called this week. He wants to come and visit, but… I don't think it's a good time right now."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think he should visit while Mom is… vulnerable."

Walter frowned. That wasn't clarifying at all, at least not to him. Paige was the strongest woman he knew. In what way was she vulnerable?

"I hear you, kid," Cabe said quietly from Walter's other side. "Just remember, he's still your old man. You should see him at some point."

Ralph gave a sort of half-shrug and looked up at Walter. Walter, for his part, was perfectly content with Ralph not wanting to see the inept man who had no idea how to relate to or be a role model for his son.

That was Walter's job. And as he watched Toby look down dotingly at his new daughter, he realized just how much he relished the role.

The judge banged his gavel and stood, and the clerk and bailiff smiled widely as they stood with him. Toby leaned down and kissed the top of Maria Quinn-Curtis's head, while Happy wiped at her eyes. Sylvester and Paige stood, and Walter, Cabe and Ralph followed suit.

Then everyone moved towards the new family, gathering in the center of the courtroom. The clerk took a picture of the judge with the new parents and their daughter, and then the judge took the camera himself and gestured for everyone to get together. Sylvester, Paige, and Ralph gathered around the family, while Walter and Cabe hesitated.

"Come on," said Toby, beckoning.

Cabe moved, but Walter stayed still. "Uh, are you sure?"

Surprisingly, it was Paige who responded, although she kept her gaze fixed on the camera. "Get over here, O'Brien."

Walter stepped up beside Ralph, who reached an arm up across his shoulders. When he smiled at the camera, it felt like the most genuine smile he had ever given in a picture.

Afterwards, Toby passed Maria to Happy and went over to the judge. "Thank you very much, Your Honor."

"Oh, it was my pleasure. I love finalizing adoptions. It's the only thing that ever happens in this courtroom where no one is losing something."

"Well, it's certainly the best reason I've ever had to be in one of these."

"Congratulations, Mr. Quinn-Curtis. Take great care of her."

"Oh, believe me, I will."

* * *

It had been a long time since Walter had last been at Toby and Happy's apartment, and everything looked wildly different. Happy had baby-proofed everything, and every room looked safer than a padded cell. Maria was placed in what was clearly a custom-made highchair, and sat in the center of the kitchen as all of the adults doted on her.

Walter stood off to the side, watching his former teammates celebrate like a family. This was what he had missed the most, even more than the lucrative jobs that they had been able to complete so efficiently when all together. They were a family.

And, according to Toby, he was still part of that family. He stepped towards the group, and saw Paige tense up a little bit, so he instead walked over to Sylvester. "Sylvester, how have you been?"

Sylvester had been in the middle of eating a cookie, and his eyes widened as he gestured to his mouth and held up his index finger. Walter waited, finding that this was not the most awkward of the possible responses to the question.

When Sylvester could speak again, he struggled. "I… I'm… Um." He fell silent for a moment, simply looking at Walter, then held out his hand for Walter to shake. Walter smiled, nodding appreciatively as he shook Sylvester's hand.

On instinct, he looked towards Paige, and found her watching the handshake. When she realized that she was caught, she immediately looked back at Maria, leaning down and giving a wide, fake smile.

That was the first time that Walter had caught her looking at him, but perhaps it hadn't been the first time she had looked.

Ralph came up on the far side of Paige and said something to her, and she turned to look at her son. While she was looking the other way, Sylvester leaned down close to Walter and spoke quietly. "Happy has something for you."

Walter looked up at him in surprise, then looked over at where Happy was standing at the counter with Toby. They were having a quiet, clearly intimate conversation, and Walter decided not to interrupt, eager as he was to find out what Sylvester was referring to.

By the time Paige looked away from Ralph, Sylvester was fully upright again and looking as though he hadn't said anything at all. Walter felt his spirits lift even higher as he realized that the rest of Centipede was going behind Paige's back for him. This must have meant that they were on his side. It also meant that Sylvester had come to his senses about Walter not having done anything at all to win Florence's attraction, even if he wasn't yet ready to apologize aloud for his outburst on that awful day.

As Paige steadfastly avoided him, he engaged happily with the rest of the team, until he finally got the chance to talk privately with Happy. They were having a normal conversation until Walter saw Paige look the other direction. "I hear you have something for me?"

Happy quickly looked over towards Paige. "Come with me." She led him into her workshop, which was the only room that looked the same as it had before.

"You didn't baby-proof in here?"

"Maria isn't coming in here until she's old enough. I still need my private space."

"Understandable."

"Walter, I'm giving you a job. Obviously, Paige can't find out about this." She walked over to her desk and picked up a dossier, handing it to him.

He quickly scanned it. "The Hudson Tunnel. They read our report?"

"Some of them. Unfortunately, and predictably, not most of them."

"This is mostly engineering work. Your area of expertise."

"Well, I'm not about to go spend a few days in New Jersey. My priorities are different now. Anyway, the resources will be very limited, so this will be efficiency over perfection."

"As always. Another temporary quick-fix to stave off the next great recession."

"As long as half of Congress continues to think of New York as the enemy, Superstorm Sandy will continue to be the gift that keeps on giving. A round-trip flight for three to Newark is already booked."

"They paid… wait, three?" Walter quickly did the math and looked up from the dossier. "Happy, tell me you didn't use Team Centipede funds to—"

"No, Toby and I paid for it ourselves. Our own income is probably higher than your entire company's right now, so it was only fair."

Again, Walter ignored the well-meaning dig, swallowing his pride. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Leave that in here so Paige doesn't see it, and I'll email you a copy. When we leave here, make sure it looks like I was just showing you some normal, everyday projects."

"Got it."

"And Walter, let me be clear. I still think you were an idiot for hiding the truth from her. But nobody acted completely rationally on that day, and we all had our own failings which contributed to… this."

"You and Toby didn't do anything wrong. I mean, you chose the wrong team in the end, but before that you tried to help. And I really appreciate that you and he and even Sylvester are trying to help now. It makes me think that, eventually, we can…"

"Maybe. But you and Paige need to have one hell of a conversation before that happens, and she's definitely not ready to have that conversation yet."

"I don't think I am, either." Walter felt that he still had to figure out his new line of thinking regarding Ralph's role before he could talk to Paige about it.

"It also probably can't happen while you're dating Florence. Just saying."

"Toby told you?"

"He's my husband. No one else knows."

"Alright." Walter still had some figuring out to do on that front as well.

"It's not fair to her, you know. You're still in love with Paige."

"She knows that." But Walter wasn't even sure he knew it himself anymore. Perhaps he had never been as in love with Paige as he thought he was.

"Well, then she's more open-minded than I am. Or… patient."

* * *

Walter climbed the stairs in the garage to find Florence sitting on the couch, reading a book. She was wearing a sweatshirt and leggings, her bare feet pulled up as she lounged comfortably. "Hey," she said brightly, not looking up. "How was it?"

"It was very pleasant. You didn't go back to your place?"

She shrugged. "No, I figured I'd wait for you."

He sat down beside her, his hand gently finding her leg as he glanced at the book she was reading. "I thought you finished that."

"I did. I'm just reading back through some of the good parts." She put the book down and rubbed his back, just below his shoulders.

"Mm, that feels nice. We have a job, by the way. Happy gave it to us."

"That was nice of her. I guess she wants to spend time with her new baby."

"Yeah. Sylvester and Toby were also in on it. They're going behind Paige's back."

"Really?" Florence stopped rubbing and looked at him. "That's… different. But… good different, I think. Sylvester's helping?"

"Yes."

"Good." Florence smiled, then leaned over and kissed him. "I think everything's going to work out in the end."

"I hope so." Walter pulled her into a hug, mostly to hide his face from her view. Maybe things were going to work out in the end. The hard part, though, would be getting things to work out while she was still in the picture. Or… the alternative.


	3. Saying it Out Loud

**A/N: Hey all. I'm glad to see that people are enjoying so far. I forgot how gratifying it was to post on here and get so much love. I expect there will be plenty more feelings after this chapter, as I start to tug at your heartstrings a little more.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: CBS owns _Scorpion_.**

 **Chapter 3: Saying it Out Loud**

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are beginning our descent into Los Angeles…"

Walter pulled himself back to consciousness, looking around. Realizing that his laptop was still open on the tray table, he quickly shut it and moved it out of the way so that everything could be properly stowed.

Florence was still asleep on his shoulder. "Florence?" He gently shook her leg.

"Mm?"

"We're landing."

She woke up slowly, in the same fashion that Walter himself probably had. Lifting off his shoulder, her head laboriously climbed until it was back in its proper position above her neck. "Alright."

Once his laptop was back in his bag, he turned to look at her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Apparently. This felt like a very short flight."

A soreness in his shoulder suggested just how long the flight had been, but he ignored it. "That's good."

"What about you?"

Walter was surprised that he had slept at all. He didn't typically sleep on flights. While the vast majority of his plane trips were uneventful, he had enough experience with less fortunate flights by now that he remained alert for any notable discrepancies, or at the very least found work to do on his laptop during which he could keep an ear out.

However, the bed in their low-budget hotel in Newark had been less than conducive to a good night's sleep, a factor that had probably contributed significantly to his falling asleep now.

"Fine," he replied. The plane hit a tiny bit of turbulence, and he briefly tightened his grip on Florence's leg.

"Ow."

"Sorry."

As the plane landed without further issue, he looked forlornly at the nineteen rows of passengers in front of them. His least favorite part of flights was always the waiting to get off the plane after they were already at the gate. It always felt like a huge waste of his time. While it certainly wasn't economically efficient for airlines to widen the aisles in their planes, it would be much more convenient for the passengers.

He mentally chastised himself for rejecting efficiency in favor of personal convenience. It was an utterly unnecessary bit of emotion. And somewhere in the back of his mind, Paige's voice was also chastising him for thinking that his time might be more valuable than the time of those seated in front of him. Even though it probably was.

"Dammit, the Dodgers lost again," said the man who was seated next to Cabe, a few rows further back. Walter laughed internally at the idea of immediately checking a baseball score as soon as he was able to access the internet again.

And Paige's voice chastised him again.

He checked his email. He already knew that he had missed an email from Richard Elia while he had been in New Jersey, and hoped that he hadn't lost the opportunity for a potential job. He should call Elia as soon as possible, but that would probably have to wait until they were out of the airport, as there was too much background noise.

As he waited impatiently for everyone in front of him to disembark, Florence leaned up and pecked his cheek. "Relax," she whispered. She knew exactly what was going through his head. Even though she was far more patient than he was, she had the same superiority complex that he did when it came to average people.

He gave her a small smile, then leaned back in his seat and pushed aside his impatience.

Once they were off the plane and free of the crowd, they quickened their pace, then stopped in their tracks after leaving the terminal. There, standing amidst the waiting family and friends, was Sylvester, holding a sign that read 'Team Scorpion.'

Cabe was the first to break free of his shock, and he walked over. "Sylvester, what are you doing here?"

Sylvester hesitated, his confidence falling apart when it came time to speak. "I… I came to give you a ride back to the garage. But… first I need to apologize… to all of you." He looked at Walter, and then at Florence. Then he gestured towards an empty bench that was out of the way of the crowds. "Can we talk?"

Walter wanted to call Elia, but that could wait. "Sure."

They sat down on the bench, and Sylvester leaned forward, looking down at the ground. It took him a few seconds to speak again. "Florence, I'm incredibly sorry for what I said that day. It was completely irrational for me to assume that Walter had done anything to force your feelings for him, or even to suggest that you weren't unilaterally responsible for developing your own feelings."

Florence digested his words for a moment, and then started to respond, but he continued.

"I got so angry. I've been…" He paused again to sort out his words. "I have gone through various emotional phases since Megan died, but after I met you, I thought for the first time that I might be able to date someone else without disrespecting her memory. And because of that notion, I think I fixated on you a little too much. I was a boy with a crush again, for the first time in a long time. And like all of my other crushes, except for Megan, the girl ultimately chose someone who was more handsome than I was."

"I'm not more handsome than you are," Walter said immediately. He knew that it wasn't true according to the societal norms regarding attractiveness, but he felt that it was what Sylvester needed to hear. It was a white lie.

"Not that it matters," Florence added. Walter knew that wasn't a lie.

"And it felt like I had been rejected again, even though I never actually told you how I felt. And so I got angry… and irrational."

"I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

"I know. And I've realized by now that my feelings for you were just another fruitless crush, one among many. And I don't need to date someone else. Megan was my soulmate. I accepted that even after she was gone. When I wanted to ask you out, I had that old line about finding happiness with someone else echoing in my head. But I don't need my happiness to depend on someone else. I can remember her and not be lonely. And if I ever am lonely, I still have my family." His gaze shifted to Walter.

He didn't sound like he had fully convinced himself just yet, but he was clearly trying.

Walter appreciated his old friend's last point, but thought about the rest of the confession. He knew how lonely a person could be when he wasn't able to be with the person he loved, and he didn't think that trying to find happiness with someone else was unhealthy.

On at least some level, this was almost certainly an extension of Sylvester's renewed fear of rejection.

Florence clearly thought the same. "Sylvester, I'm not sure you should completely give up on finding happiness with someone else. Just because I didn't—"

"Florence, I appreciate the thought, but please don't finish that sentence."

Florence closed her mouth and glanced at Walter. But that was a conversation for another time. "We accept your apology," he said.

"Good." Sylvester perked up. "Now I'll drive you back to the garage."

"Paige doesn't know you're here, does she?" Cabe asked as they stood.

"Uh… no. That's another thing. Walter, Richard Elia emailed."

"I know."

"When you didn't respond, he emailed me. Another security glitch with his banking app. Paige thinks I'm at his office right now."

"Did you take the job?"

"I quickly programmed a hotfix and sent it to him. It fortified the app until you can get over there."

Walter looked at his friend. "Thank you."

"It didn't seem fair to take work from Elia. He's your connection."

"What are you going to tell Paige when the payment doesn't come in?" Cabe asked.

Sylvester hesitated again. "Maybe she won't notice. There have been plenty of paydays lately."

"She'll notice," Walter and Cabe said in unison.

"I know. I'll figure something out when the time comes."

"There's a lot of deception here, Sly," Cabe pointed out. "That's not your style."

"Believe me, I know. You know I'm not comfortable with it. But Paige is… she isn't ready for…"

"I know," said Walter. "Happy said the same thing the other day." He caught an expression that briefly flit across Florence's face. Apprehension?

"We're going to come clean to her, and I hope it will be soon, but in the meantime…" Sylvester gave a small shrug. "This feels like the right thing to do."

"I appreciate that."

As they left the airport, Sylvester decided to change the subject. "So, how was New Jersey?"

* * *

Walter hadn't thought that Richard Elia could surprise him anymore. He was wrong. "You have a poster of a baseball player in your office."

"I lost a bet with Russell."

"Um… okay. How is he? And Zoe?"

Elia sighed. "Behaving like teenagers. But, Zoe got into Berkley, so I guess I can't complain."

"Give her my congratulations. You must be proud."

"I am." Elia stared off into space. "Obviously, I knew she would eventually reach the age where she would be going off to college, but… I liked it much better when that age was further off."

Walter wasn't entirely comfortable with this conversation. "Well, children grow up."

"The code is done?"

Walter realized that Elia had picked up on his discomfort, and he appreciated the quick change of topic. "Yes. The app should be totally un-hackable."

"At least until the hackers find a new way. Eventually, they always do. But, I've got you around for when that happens."

"Technically, I wasn't around this time."

"Well, that's true, but Sylvester did you a solid. It was very nice of him to help you out."

"Yes, it was." Walter wondered exactly what Sylvester had told Elia about the current… circumstances.

Elia was silent for a few seconds. Then he leaned forward. "Walter, I consider us friends, and I hope you agree with that. In that spirit, I hope you don't mind if I speak frankly for a moment."

Walter frowned, not sure what was coming. "Go ahead."

"I did my research before contacting you. I had heard about the team splitting up, and I wanted to get a sense of how much work you had been getting since it happened. I wanted to know whether Scorpion 2.0, as you're calling it, was able to survive on its own. And, honestly, Walter, I don't think it can."

"You were able to deduce that from an internet search?"

"That isn't the only kind of research. I have sources."

"Well, with all due respect, I disagree with your assessment." Walter fidgeted with his bag. "I should probably get going."

"Walter, do you really disagree? The situation you're in right now is untenable."

"Richard, I appreciate the concern, but we'll get by. Scorpion always does."

"But this isn't Scorpion anymore. You're a half a team."

Walter stood, pulling his bag over his shoulder.

"Walter, the reason I did the research is because I'm offering to buy Scorpion 2.0."

Walter froze. "What?"

"You would have full access to my marketing team, which would give you a virtual monopoly on the west coast. Paige is good, but she's just one person. My team would give you the kind of outreach that you have never had before."

That would mean a lot more jobs. Walter couldn't believe he was actually considering this. Elia had tried multiple times before to hire him, but he had never before tried to permanently hire the entire team as a unit.

"And you would have access to my team of engineers. None of them are Happy Quinn, but as a group, they can certainly work faster than Happy can alone."

Walter had managed to keep Scorpion independent for over four years. But things were getting worse.

And Elia was right. It wasn't Scorpion anymore.

"I'll think about it."

"Good." Elia leaned back again. "Why don't you stop by a lunch conference I'm hosting next week? Then we'll chat about it."

Walter nodded stiffly. "Sounds good."

Elia stood. "I'll walk you out."

* * *

"Are you alright?" Cabe asked as soon as Walter entered the garage. Was it that obvious?

"Yeah." Walter walked over to his desk and set his bag down. "Where's Florence?"

"At her place. She's doing some experiment that she said would be too smelly to do in the garage."

Walter wrinkled his nose, knowing exactly what experiment he was referring to. "Did anything come in while I was gone?"

"Nope. All quiet on the home front."

Of course. Walter sat down heavily, Elia's words circling through his mind over and again.

"What's bothering you, Walter?"

Walter took a breath before replying. "Elia's offering to buy Scorpion 2.0."

Cabe said nothing. He looked away, staring off into space for several seconds. "Did you tell him no?"

"I said I would think about it."

"Are you actually?"

Walter hesitated. "Maybe."

"My god." Cabe looked away again, then stood and took a few steps away from his chair, placing his hands in his pockets. Walter thought he was about to start yelling, but the yelling never came. "How long is he giving you to think about it?"

"He wants me to attend a conference he's hosting next week. We're going to talk afterwards."

Cabe turned and took two steps back towards his chair, then stopped. He remained still for a moment, then sighed. "Maybe it's time."

That was not the response that Walter was expecting.

Cabe covered the rest of the distance to his chair and sat down. "Look, Walt, we're not doing well right now. And Elia's certainly got the resources to turn that around."

Walter realized that he had been hoping Cabe would be against the idea. He needed someone other than him to voice the reasons why he shouldn't agree.

"I'll say this: This will certainly give Carson the excuse he wants to terminate our contract entirely. Homeland's not about to start giving classified information to a company as large as Elia's. Far too much potential for security breaches. Not that Homeland's been giving us much of anything lately, anyway."

"But you work for Homeland. That would mean you could no longer work with us." Walter finally had the reason he needed to turn down the offer. He couldn't lose Cabe.

"Are you kidding? You think I wouldn't be coming with you? Wherever this team goes, I go. I've been thinking it's about time for me to retire from government work, anyway."

Now Walter was truly stunned. "After all the trouble we went through last year to get you reinstated? You're so passionate about your job."

"That's true. I love serving my country. But I have other loves in my life now." He paused for a moment, looking down. "Allie wants to set a date."

"A date?" They had lots of dates, didn't they?

"A wedding date."

That made sense. After couples got engaged, they then got married. But Cabe didn't look happy. "Is that bad?"

Cabe took a moment before replying. "I can't afford to give her the life she deserves, Walt."

It took a few seconds for the full weight of the sentence to set in. Walter often thought about how the business was strained for money, but individually, he, Cabe, and Florence all lived pretty simply. He and Florence both focused the majority of their expenses on their projects, but he never gave much thought to how Cabe handled his income. Or whether he might ever be strained for cash.

But he knew the proper response to give. "I don't think Allie cares if your income is too low." He had heard Paige say something similar once.

"Not directly. But she has dreams, and as things stand right now, I can't help her fulfill them. With Elia's money…" He trailed off. "Not that that's the only issue, but it would certainly be a step in the right direction."

"What are the other issues?"

Cabe gave him a forlorn expression, and Walter wondered whether he shouldn't have asked the question. "She wants a family."

"You mean… children?" Walter couldn't envision Cabe with new children.

"Yeah. And she should have them. She's still young, she deserves to be a mother."

"Actually, she's well past the optimal child-bearing age." Walter knew as soon as he saw Cabe's reaction that that wasn't the appropriate response. "I mean…" He searched for something else to say, but nothing came to mind.

Cabe waited for a moment, then looked away. "I can't go through that again, Walter."

Now Walter absolutely had no idea what to say. Cabe was an excellent father-figure, but he had only briefly been a real father. Walter realized that Allie's desire for children must have been causing Cabe to relive his experiences with Amanda, including her death.

Cabe stood again, turning and fully hiding his face. Walter stood as well, because it felt like the right thing to do.

"I'm gonna… excuse me." Cabe abruptly walked into the kitchen, disappearing from view. Walter briefly considered going after him, but decided against it. The only reason Cabe would have gone in there was to be alone.

* * *

Walter watched the clock. He waited until he was sure that Sylvester would be home, but not a second longer, and picked up his phone.

"Hello?"

"Did you know that Elia was going to offer to buy Scorpion 2.0?"

"What?" The surprise sounded genuine.

"Elia offered to buy Scorpion 2.0."

There was a moment of silence on the other end. "You told him no, right?"

"Not yet."

There was more silence, until Walter heard Sylvester breathe heavily into the phone.

"Sylvester, what exactly was said when you sent him the hotfix?"

"He… I…"

"Did he ask you if Scorpion 2.0 was getting enough work?"

"No…"

Walter waited, an old anger beginning to rise anew.

"I may have hinted that you weren't very busy, and… suggested that any work he could give you would be helpful. But I swear, I had no idea that he was going to offer to buy your team."

Walter shut his eyes, doing his best to suppress his emotions. Sylvester had only been trying to help.

"Walter?"

"What?" The word came out sounding harsher than Walter intended it to.

"You're going to turn him down, right?"

Now it was Walter's turn to sigh into the phone. "Well, like you said, we need the work."

"Please turn him down."

"Why?" Sylvester wasn't a member of Scorpion anymore. Why did he care?

"Because if you don't, then we can't…" Sylvester trailed off. "There's only one way to make everyone happy. Well, except Elia, apparently, but he's gotten over your rejections before."

"What are you talking about, Sly?"

Sylvester took an audible breath before responding. "We have to reunite Scorpion."


	4. The Women in his Life

**A/N: Hey all! I'll admit, I'm surprised by how mixed the reactions on Waige and Walter/Florence are. Based on my perusal of some other stories and reviews on this site, the community seemed to be much more unanimously in support of Waige, and I don't think there's a Walter/Florence story anywhere on here. But, apparently the fans are out there.**

 **For my part, it took me a long time to get fully behind Waige. I've always been of the belief that relationships should be between equals, and for a long while, it seemed to me like Waige was this show's version of Josh/Donna or Ron/Hermione, neither of which I was ever able to get behind. It took some serious development of Walter's and Paige's characters, and some growing up on my part, for me to realize that Paige really was Walter's equal in the ways that mattered.**

 **As for Walter/Florence, some scenes in these next few chapters demonstrate why I think they could work out nicely in a vacuum, but not in the context of the series as a whole.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: CBS owns _Scorpion_.**

 **Chapter 4: The Women in his Life**

"Walter?"

"Mm?"

"Do you agree with what Sylvester said yesterday, about him and Megan being soulmates?"

"Hm?" What was she talking about? Walter didn't want to be thinking about anything yet.

"Do you believe in soulmates?"

Walter didn't reply. Half his face was buried in his pillow, and he tried to bury it in deeper. They were spooning, which was an unusual position for them. He realized that he must have been responsible for it, since she had fallen asleep long before he managed to.

Between the conversations with Elia, Cabe, and Sylvester, it had taken him a very long time to fall asleep. There was a lot to process, but his brain seemed determined to process as much of it at once as possible, as impractical as that was.

"I suppose I already know the answer to that. The idea of soulmates is totally illogical. There's no way you could accept it."

He wished she would stop talking. He tightened his arm around her a little bit, hoping that would convey the thought.

She broke free from his arm and moved away a little bit, before rolling onto her back. "Why are you so tired this morning?"

"T'searly."

"It's not that early."

He hadn't told her about the conversations. It would have only caused her stress, and there was no benefit to that. Except to maybe get her to stop trying to talk to him right now.

"Alright, you sleep in." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'm going for a run."

* * *

By the time Walter came downstairs, Cabe was sitting at his desk, looking perfectly normal. "Morning, Walt."

"Good morning. How are you feeling?"

"The same as any other day." Cabe didn't meet Walter's eyes as he spoke.

Walter realized that probably wasn't a lie. While Cabe had only just told Walter about his concerns, he had already been dealing with them. Why should today be any different for him?

"Any jobs?"

"No."

Walter knew that he wasn't the one who Cabe should talk to about this. He knew who was, but that would require another difficult conversation.

He sat down at his desk, but immediately looked back over at Cabe. This needed to happen. Illogical as it seemed, he wasn't going to be able to concentrate fully on anything else until this was taken care of.

Retrieving his car keys, he stood. "I'll be back in a little while."

"Where are you off to?"

"I'll be back." Walter quickly covered the distance to the door before Cabe could ask any more questions.

He drove with uncharacteristic patience, not eager to reach his destination. He didn't want to have this conversation, but it needed to be had.

When he arrived at Centipede's office, he took a moment to look around. It looked decidedly cleaner than the garage did, and the desks were set up in a neat rectangle.

"Walter?" He met her eyes, for the first time in a long time. She looked confused, but he wondered what else she might be feeling.

"What are you doing here?" Sylvester asked hastily. He sounded nervous, and Walter guessed that he was worried that Walter might reveal their conversations from yesterday.

"Cabe needs you." He watched as her eyes widened.

"Is everything okay?"

"Not exactly. Can I explain in the car?"

She hesitated. "We're about to leave for a job."

"I can handle it alone," said Sylvester. "You go."

She nodded and grabbed her bag. Walter turned and led the way out. On the way back to the garage, he told her what Cabe had said the night before, although he left out any mention of Elia's offer.

She didn't reply until a couple of seconds after he finished speaking. "Alright."

He glanced at her, waiting for her to say something more, but she didn't. A couple of blocks passed in total silence, but he found it utterly uncomfortable. "So, how are you?"

"Walter, please don't attempt small talk right now."

A few more blocks passed. He couldn't take it. "How much time off did you give Toby and Happy?"

"As much as they feel they need."

"That's fair."

"You know it's going to take time before Happy is ready to put her faith in a babysitter."

"That's understandable. I would think Toby would also be concerned about it."

"Actually, he thinks his hiring skills are infallible. He thinks he can read all of the right indicators to select the perfect nanny."

"He probably can."

"Except that he has very limited experience with nannies."

Walter slowed to a stop at a red light. "Maybe you should help them hire someone. You have the requisite experience in that area."

"You do realize how that would impact Toby's pride, don't you?"

She had a point there.

"Anyway, it should be a while before they come back. Right now, the most important thing is that Maria come to recognize her new parents."

"That they imprint upon her?"

She made a face at his phrasing. "Sure."

Silence fell again, and Walter felt slightly less uncomfortable. They had had a real conversation, even if it had only been about their mutual friends. As they hit another red light, however, he felt the need to break the silence again. "How is Ralph?"

"You saw him just a few days ago."

"I know, but—"

"Walter, please stop."

"Okay." He gave up. Both Happy and Sylvester had said that she wasn't ready, and her unwillingness to engage in small talk must have been a manifestation of that.

They arrived at the garage and entered. Florence was back, and she and Cabe both looked up in surprise. "Hello."

Paige immediately walked over to Cabe's desk. "Walter said that you needed to talk."

Cabe looked at Walter. "Did he?"

"And I think he's right." Paige retrieved her old chair and brought it over to Cabe's desk, sitting down.

Walter quickly retrieved his laptop from his desk and turned to Florence. "Let's go over to your lab."

"It's still pretty smelly in there."

"Kovelsky's, then. Come on." He placed a hand at her waist to urge her along. Part of his mind registered that Paige must have seen the action, but he wasn't sure how to feel about it, so he ignored it.

They quickly left the garage. "You brought her here to talk to Cabe?" Florence asked as they got into his car.

"Yes."

"I didn't realize you were communicating with her again."

"Actually, we barely communicated at all."

Florence didn't say anything to this. In the back of Walter's mind, Toby's voice made a comment about the symbolism of her now sitting exactly where Paige had been sitting only minutes before, but he ignored it.

"So, what's wrong with Cabe?"

Walter was surprised by how long it took her to ask the question. He filled her in in the same fashion that he had filled in Paige earlier, and then explained what had happened with Amanda and Rebecca.

"Oh. Wow."

Walter gave her the time to process it as he drove the rest of the way to Kovelsky's.

She didn't speak again until they were seated at a table and had ordered coffees. "Do you think he should call off the engagement?"

"What?"

"If they have conflicting desires for the future, then they're not fully compatible, are they?"

Walter hadn't dared to approach such an idea, but only because Cabe and Allie clearly loved each other, and he cared deeply about Cabe. Logically, Florence was correct.

"I don't think they can resolve such a fundamental conflict, where one or the other would have to sacrifice their vision of the future."

Walter desperately didn't want to verbally acknowledge her accuracy. He understood how much it would hurt Cabe to break up with Allie.

Their coffees were served, and he hastily thanked the waitress.

"Do you want to have kids?" Florence asked.

"Yes." It seemed like a heavy question for him to answer so quickly, but he had thought about it more as he had spent more time with Ralph over the years. After the conversation with Happy at Thanksgiving the previous year, he had begun to conclude with increasing certainty that he someday wanted a product of his own genes.

"Good. I do too. Not soon, but… eventually. I know I'm not very good with kids right now, but, that will change. I've gotten some sense from Happy of how quickly those instincts can develop. And I think I would be a good mother. Do you think so?"

"Yes." Walter didn't want to think much about how she would be as a mother. Such thoughts felt inappropriate in his mind.

"Good. And I think you would be a good father. That, um… That felt weird to say out loud."

"We haven't been dating remotely long enough to have this conversation." He and Paige had never reached the topic in a year.

"I know. I… It just… With the conversation about Cabe and Allie, it just… came up."

"How did the experiment go yesterday?" Walter hastily changed the subject before taking a sip of his coffee.

"You asked me that last night. Were you not paying attention to my response?"

His conversation with her when she returned to the garage the previous night had barely registered. He had been too wrapped up in thoughts of the other conversations throughout the day. "I… I was tired."

"You were worried about Cabe. I understand."

Not just about Cabe, but he wasn't ready to tell her about the other conversations yet.

"The result was inconclusive. Something went wrong."

"Do you know what it was?"

"I have a hunch."

"A hunch? That's rather imprecise phrasing by your standards when referring to chemistry."

"It's a colloquialism. I use colloquialisms."

"You mean to say its vernacular. They're not exactly the same thing."

"Yes, they are."

"No, they're not."

"What exactly do you think colloquialism means?"

Their waitress stopped at their table. "And here I thought I didn't have English class until 6:30 tonight. Can I get you anything else?"

"You're in an English class?" Walter asked. "College-level, I assume?" The assumption was based on his estimation of her age, which appeared to be mid-20's.

"Yes."

"Okay. While I won't go into how utterly impractical it is to take a class in literature as part of higher education, I will ask that you confirm that colloquial and vernacular are not in fact synonymous."

"Excuse me?"

"Walter…"

The waitress gave the sort of ironic smile that precedes a slap in the face. "While I appreciate your willingness to defer to me in your desperate attempt for validation, I refrain from interposing myself into disputes between patrons. And yes, I can use big words, too. That comes from taking a college-level English class. Let me know if you need anything else." With that, she walked away.

"I like her," said Florence.

Walter's phone rang. Thank goodness. The last thing he needed to deal with right now was stubborn waitresses.

He checked the caller ID. Paige. "Hello?"

"Cabe needs to take a few days off."

"Um… why?"

"He needs to think, and he needs a few days alone."

Walter sighed. He didn't want Cabe to leave, but he knew to defer to Paige's judgment on this. "Okay."

"He's going to tell Allie that he's going on a job for a few days, and is going to be out of contact. If she asks you about it, you need to play along. And… so does Florence."

"You want us to… lie to her?"

"It's for Cabe, Walter."

Walter hoped that Allie wouldn't contact him in the next few days. "Yeah."

"And I'm glad that you came to me to help him. That was very kind of you."

"Thank you… and thank you for helping him."

"Of course." She hung up. Walter put down the phone and looked across the table at Florence.

"Who are we lying to?"

"Allie, if necessary. Cabe needs to take a few days off to be alone, and he's telling her that he's going on a job and will be out of contact."

"So… he's lying to her."

"Yeah."

"And… Paige wants us to corroborate the lie if Allie asks."

"Yes."

Florence didn't say anything, and Walter had no idea what to make of her expression.

"It's for Cabe."

"This is a bad idea."

"It's Paige's idea. This is her area of expertise."

"No, it's Toby's area of expertise. You should have brought him in on this, but I can certainly imagine why you thought of her first."

"Toby is an expert at understanding individuals. Paige is an expert at interpersonal relations. This is about Cabe's relationship with Allie, so it fell into her area."

Florence looked displeased with his response, even though it was accurate. "I still say it's a bad idea."

"We may have to work on our deception skills, but… I think we can manage."

* * *

Walter sat alone in the garage. Florence had gone back to her lab as soon as they had gotten back. She was upset about something, but he wasn't sure whether it was about lying to Allie or him bringing Paige to help Cabe.

This certainly wasn't something he could ask Paige about. Maybe Toby? But would Toby be upset that he had gone to Paige first to help Cabe? Walter still didn't think he had made the wrong call there, but it might wound Toby's pride nonetheless.

He decided not to call anyone for the moment. It had been a long time since he had been alone in the garage for any significant duration, but since he didn't know when Florence would return, it looked like today would change that. Perhaps the silence would be a good thing. He had been thinking about testing… what was it? There was an idea that he had wanted to try, but it eluded his mind at the moment. All the chaos of the past 24 hours had driven everything else out.

Opening google, he looked up the definition of the word 'colloquial.' He knew he was right, he just had to double-check… He wasn't right. He was wrong. How could he have been wrong about that? That was an incredibly stupid mistake for him to make.

He should apologize to Florence about that when she returned. He should probably also apologize to the waitress at Kovelsky's if he ever saw her again. She had been admirable, if perhaps a bit excessive in telling him off. Like a certain other waitress four years ago who had proven even more feisty and admirable.

Stress caused dumb mistakes. He knew it, had seen it countless times over the past four years, and several times before that. But every time it affected him, it surprised him. He expected more of himself.

A foul odor touched his nose. He looked around in confusion, wrinkling his nose as the odor began filling the air more. He quickly realized that it was coming from the vent. Was she…

Getting up, he left the garage and went over to her lab, knocking on the door.

She opened it. "Hi."

"Very funny."

"What?"

"You're funneling the odor from your experiment through the vent into the garage."

"Well, since I'm spending the day here now, I had to do something to make the air breathable."

"Florence, I—"

"Walter, it's still not going to smell as bad in there as it does here. You can endure at least a little of what I'm enduring."

"Why don't you just come back to the garage?"

"Because I don't want to be around you right now."

"Florence, I'm sorry. I was wrong. Colloquial and vernacular are synonyms. I shouldn't have argued with you about it. It was a dumb mistake."

A small smile crossed her face. "That's not even close to what I'm upset about, but I do like when you apologize." She looked down for a moment, then back up at him. "And I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have snapped at you about Paige. I understand why you went to her. I was just blindsided when she showed up, and… I'm a little paranoid when it comes to relationships."

"I understand. I should have told you I was bringing her. You were still out exercising, but I should have at least sent you a text message."

Her smile widened. She stepped outside, shutting the door behind her, and the motion brought her very close to him. Then she wrapped her arms around him and lay her head on his chest. "Look at us, apologizing to each other like this. Couldn't have foreseen this on the garbage raft."

Walter wrapped his arms around her as well. "You're surprisingly light-hearted about an event in which you nearly died."

"Well, you've nearly died many more times than I have, so I can be light-hearted about my few close encounters." She looked up at him. "For the record, though, I still don't think it's right to lie to Allie."

"I know. It's… unsavory. But it's for Cabe."


	5. Team Cabe

**A/N: Hey all. Since it seems that chapter 4 was a little too Walter/Florence-heavy for people's tastes, I'm hurrying up and giving you all the next chapter to go into the weekend with. From here on, the chapters get around 1.5 to 2 times longer than the earlier ones, as we continue to build momentum in the narrative.**

 **A note on Sylvester driving, since someone mentioned it in a review: We know that early on in the series, Sylvester didn't drive, and that phenomenal sequence with Ralph in the earthquake episode comes to mind immediately. Later on, however, that idea seemed to fall by the wayside. You'll remember that in the lighthouse episode in February, no one batted an eye when Sylvester said that he was taking Ralph and Patty to Kovelsky's. There wasn't any clarification that they would be taking public transportation or anything, and I took for granted that he must have started driving at some point. Given his talents, it would be very easy for him to learn to drive, and he would be a very careful and good driver, so I don't see why it couldn't have happened.**

 **Since chapter 3 and this chapter are the only two times in my story where it ever comes up, it's not a huge issue for me, but if you feel that I should reupload chapter 3 with a quick explanation, such as that he learned to drive in anticipation of Toby and Happy being off for a while, knowing that it would be impractical for Paige to have to drive him everywhere that he couldn't reach with public transit, I can do that.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. And drink responsibly.**

 **Disclaimer: CBS owns _Scorpion_.**

 **Chapter 5: Team Cabe**

This time, Walter lay awake in the early morning. Florence was still asleep, but her alarm would go off soon. This was the one morning of the week that she had an alarm set, because she had her Tae Bo class.

He chuckled silently to himself. In the early mornings, she focused on athletics, not research. He should probably do the same, but it wasn't who he was.

He thought about when she had first told him about the Tae Bo class, right before rappelling across the harpoon rope off of what she had referred to as the 'garbage raft.' Her performance had… impressed him, and it had been the first time in a long time that a woman other than Paige had impressed him in that way. While there hadn't been time at that moment to process the little bit of guilt that emerged, he had later felt the need to stare at Paige just a little longer than normal in order to tamp down that guilt. That had been after he had rescued Florence and they had gotten off of that boat.

He thought about how easily she had been able to joke about that occasion when they reconciled yesterday. It seemed to appropriately reflect how easy the reconciliation itself had been. With Paige, reconciling after arguments had never been so easy, because they were so different, and it had always required the extra effort to see where she was coming from. Florence was much more similar to him, and he could much more easily put himself in her shoes and recognize how his actions had upset her.

If, during his and Paige's relationship, Paige had abruptly shown up at the garage with Tim, even for an entirely platonic and necessary purpose, it certainly would have upset him.

He realized now that remembering Tim didn't upset him as much as it once had. Before he could ponder that, however, Florence's alarm went off.

She woke up immediately, and reached over to silence the offending noise.

He turned towards her. "Good morning."

"Good morning."

On impulse, he leaned over and kissed her.

"What was that for?"

He shrugged. "Just an impulse."

She smiled, then kissed him back. Just as the kiss started to deepen, however, she pulled away. "Don't make me late." She got up from the bed, glancing over at the nightstand where their phones lay. "You have a text from Toby."

* * *

When Walter arrived at Toby and Happy's apartment, Sylvester was already there. The three of them sat in the kitchen, with Maria sitting on Toby's lap. Walter leaned against the counter, looking at them warily.

"How's Cabe?" Sylvester asked.

"That's unclear. He's taking a few days off, at Paige's recommendation."

"What happened to Cabe?" Happy asked, her frown immediate.

Walter filled them in.

"Okay, you could have come to me in lieu of Paige," said Toby. "I mean, I understand why you went to her first, but, just saying."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… I just…"

"I know, you thought of her first. You always do, and you always should."

"I… what?"

"And I agree with the recommendation of him taking a few days off. The guy needs to figure out where he stands with things, and that will be a lot easier to do without him being surrounded by the likes of us. But what about Allie?"

"He told her that he's going on a job and will be out of contact, and Paige wants me and Florence to corroborate that if Allie asks us."

"Okay, that part I don't agree with."

"Nor do I," added Sylvester.

"Yeah, Florence doesn't either. And I… Well, you know how I feel about dishonesty, but… it's for Cabe."

Toby shook his head. "Except now there's no version of this where Allie doesn't come out hurting, and she doesn't deserve that."

Walter didn't want to think about that. His primary concern was Cabe, and while he didn't want Allie to get hurt, he had to do whatever it might take for Cabe to be alright.

"Happy," Sylvester asked quietly, "are you okay?"

Happy was leaning forward and looking at the ground. Her face showed anger, but she was one to replace sadness with anger on instinct. "It's not fair. They both deserve to be happy, and they were very happy together."

"I know, love," said Toby. "But happiness alone doesn't make a marriage work. They can't enter a marriage wanting different things in the future."

"Are you seriously telling me how marriage works right now?"

"Nope, no, not at all." Toby quickly looked down at their daughter, gently tickling her belly. She laughed and grabbed onto his hand. "I think Paige might be a little off her game. Lying to Allie was not the best way to go here."

"You think Cabe should have told her the truth, that he needed a few days away from her to think?" Happy asked.

"She's a smart woman, and marriage is a big deal. I think she would have understood."

"If you had abruptly needed a few days away from me before we got married, I would have panicked a little bit."

"Well, we spent a good portion of our engagement in mortal danger, so the circumstances were different. But there were moments of doubt. Remember the debacle with the Mars biodome?"

"Yeah, never forgetting that. And the bicker clicker."

Toby chuckled. "That was stupid. But I also process emotions more quickly than Cabe does, so I would never have needed a few days. And what would you have done if I came back from those three days and everything was fine?"

"I would have kissed you until it hurt."

"You know, I like the sound of that. Maybe I should book a few days away."

"If you do that while we're here with Maria, you'll be leaving without your testicles."

Sylvester blanched. "Uh, guys…"

"The point is, if Cabe had come back and decided he wanted to be with Allie, everything would have been fine. But now he's lied to her, and that's always going to be there."

"Especially if she finds out about it," said Happy. She looked up at Walter. "Make sure that doesn't happen."

Part of Walter's mind was still trying to process Toby's suggestion that Paige might be… off her game, as he had put it. Why would she be? "Why do you think Paige might be a little off her game?"

Toby gave him a knowing look. "Gee, can't imagine why that part stuck in your head." Maria grabbed onto his thumb, and he looked back down at her. "Paige should have known better."

Surprisingly, Sylvester weighed in. "Yesterday was the first time you and she talked since… in a long time. Maybe she was… a little too focused on it."

"If she had negative recollections of what happened with your relationship in mind, she was more likely to suggest faulty relationship advice that might have a similarly negative impact on Cabe's relationship. You lied to her, ergo she recommended that Cabe lie to Allie."

Walter frowned. He didn't like that this had suddenly become about his failed relationship with Paige.

"She hasn't been at her best these past few months."

"She's certainly been getting you guys plenty of jobs."

"I mean on the social translating front. Not that she's needed as much for that now as she was a few years ago, but she's definitely been a little more inclined towards deception lately."

"Which has had its useful moments," said Happy.

"Her mother would agree with you."

Walter immediately shook away the thought of Veronica. Paige was never going to be like her.

"Well, maybe now that you guys are talking again…" said Sylvester.

"We had one conversation, and it was about Cabe and you guys."

"And one conversation can lead to others. The point is, now's our chance to start bringing Scorpion back together. Before you sell to Elia."

"Yeah, Walt, go with the age-old advice on that one: Just say no."

"It will be easier for him to do that if there's another prospect for financial security on the horizon. Namely, reuniting Scorpion."

Happy nodded. "Yeah, it's time to get the band back together. Or at least try to."

Sylvester rubbed his hands together. "It's time to begin Operation Reunite Scorpion."

"Yeah, we're not calling it that," said Toby. "What about Operation… Cyclone Repair."

"Really, Doc, that's the best you could do?"

"On short notice. Give me some time."

"Guys, I… I really want to agree with you, but…" Walter kept thinking about how curt Paige had been with him. "She's still really upset."

"Hey, one conversation is the start of the road to redemption, buddy."

"And you and Paige don't have to get back together to reunite Scorpion," said Happy. "You just have to be friends again."

"Do you think that can happen?"

She hesitated. "We'll see."

"Well, after the first conversation comes the second one," said Toby. "Maybe give it a few days, see what happens with Cabe first."

"If Cabe and Allie split, we have to do something for him," said Happy. "All of us."

"I think that something is going to have to involve a lot of booze."

"For him, yes. For you, no."

"I know, love. That's what I meant." He looked up at Walter. "In the meantime, you maybe want to reevaluate things with Florence. If she means a lot to you, I get it. If not, she's only going to be a hinderance in doing what needs to be done."

Walter didn't want that part to come. He… "Scorpion could use a chemist. We needed one a few times in the past year."

"We got by for over three years without one," said Happy. "And we definitely don't need that one."

Walter was bothered by the comment, but he withheld a retort. Antagonizing Happy was the last thing he should be doing right now. "I… Fine, I'll… reevaluate." He didn't want to, but he could at least tell them he would.

Maria looked up at him, and he watched as the infant observed him. He wondered what she was thinking.

"Oops," said Toby, looking down at her. "Smells like someone needs a change. It's your turn, sweetie."

Happy stood and took Maria from him.

"'I should get going," said Sylvester, also standing. "Have to leave for Mexico soon."

"Mexico?"

"Don't forget the drone specs," Happy called as she carried Maria out of the room.

Sylvester patted his pocket. "Yup, I've got them."

"Drone specs?"

"Sorry, Walt. Classified," said Toby. Carson had made a point of adding a clause in their contracts forbidding them from sharing information with each other about their classified missions. Walter was pretty sure that Carson's sole objective with that clause was to be even more of a jerk, since they all had the same classification level.

Walter sighed. "Alright." It had been a long time since he had gotten a job from Homeland.

Once Happy and Sylvester were both gone, Toby stood and approached Walter. "Listen, Walt, about Florence…"

"I… Toby, I can't have that conversation right now."

"Alright. Just know, the longer you drag it out, the more painful it's gonna be."

Walter knew that. He didn't want to hurt her. "Yeah, I should also get going."

"Busy day ahead?"

"No." Walter turned and left the kitchen, heading for the door.

"Let us know as soon as Cabe is back."

"I will."

* * *

All of Walter's hoping that Allie wouldn't show up and ask about Cabe was for naught. She showed up that afternoon, while he and Florence were at the garage. "Hi."

"Hello, Walter, Florence. How are you?"

"We're alright. How are you?"

"Well, that depends. Where is Cabe?"

"He's on a job."

"A classified job?"

"Yes."

Allie sighed. "Something was wrong when he called me yesterday. He was… scared or something. He's never sounded like that, and you've been in plenty of scary situations. Is he in a lot of danger?"

"I assure you, he's perfectly safe."

Allie looked down. "There's something else, too. When I told him I love him, he didn't say it back. He always says it back."

Walter wasn't sure what to say to that. His most sympathetic response would be to assure Allie that Cabe did love her, but he wasn't sure he should say that. If Cabe was about to break up with her, that might not be the right thing to say right now.

"He was in a hurry," Florence said quickly.

Allie looked over at her. "Alright. Well, if you hear anything from him, please let me know. Let me know anything you can."

"We will," said Walter.

Allie turned and headed for the door. Before she reached it, she turned and looked back at him, but then she continued on and left.

Walter allowed himself to acknowledge the knot that had formed in his gut. The look she had given him before leaving imprinted itself on his mind. She'd had such a tragic expression on her face, and he wondered if she hadn't believed what they told her.

"That sucked," said Florence. She was looking down at her desk.

"Yes, it did."

"I need to… excuse me." She stood and ran over to the stairs, then up them.

Walter waited only a second before going after her. Hearing the door to the roof open, he continued upwards until he was standing behind her again. She was standing still, hugging her arms to her body. "Florence?"

She turned to him, looking like she was about to cry. Then she jogged back over and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

He hugged her back, surprised by how affected she was. It had certainly felt terrible lying to Allie, and she hadn't liked the idea from the start, but her reaction seemed… prodigious.

"Please don't do that to me."

"What?"

"You were at Toby and Happy's for a while this morning, and… I know you're not going to be happy again until Scorpion is back together." She lifted her head and looked up at him, her eyes pleading. "They're never going to forgive me, are they? I caused all of this." She looked away again. "And I prepared myself, because eventually you would try to rebuild Scorpion, and that might mean I would have to go, and I didn't think I would… I thought…" She started to break down. "I didn't think I would be this happy with you."

Now he was beginning to understand. She was putting two and two together the same way that Toby and Happy were, concluding that she would get in the way of Scorpion reuniting.

"I braced myself, fortified myself against the possibility of you feeling like you would have to choose. Of course you would choose them, they're your family. I was prepared for it, but then…" She looked up at him again, halting a tear atop each cheek. "We've been wonderful together. More than I thought we would be."

Walter agreed with that. He had never expected to be this happy with their relationship. He badly wanted Scorpion back together, but now he realized that he wanted to find any way he could possibly make that happen without having to say goodbye to Florence.

To be sure, he didn't love her yet like he had loved Paige, but he was steadily growing fonder of her, and their relationship worked much more easily than his and Paige's ever had.

"Florence, I can't say for sure what's going to happen, but just know that I'm going to do whatever I can to avoid having to make that choice. I'm also a lot happier with you than I ever thought I would be, and I don't want to lose you. I'm confident that I can bring Scorpion back together without us having to break up."

His words visibly cheered her up. He didn't feel as confident as he had indicated, but the white lie came easily after just having had the conversation with Allie.

She leaned up and kissed him soundly. "I'm holding you to that."

* * *

As it turned out, the conversation with Allie was probably the last one they would ever have. Cabe broke up with her before he returned to the garage, and he arrived with tear-stained cheeks. Walter had never been able to envision the Homeland agent crying, and the sight made his heart want to drop through the floor.

He immediately contacted Sylvester and Toby. Sylvester and Paige arrived first from their office, and Toby and Happy arrived shortly thereafter with Maria and a large bottle of scotch. "Alright, we brought the baby and the booze," said Toby, setting the bottle down on Cabe's desk as Happy parked Maria's stroller right beside Cabe's chair. "Something's gonna cheer this man up."

Walter went into the kitchen to retrieve glasses and ice, and Florence followed him in there. "Maybe I should stay in here," she suggested.

"No, I don't think that would be best. This is for Cabe, and you're part of his family, too."

"Okay, but I'm definitely having a glass of that scotch." She took two of the glasses from him and left the kitchen, and he saw Paige glance at her as she approached Cabe's desk.

"You guys are too much, really," said Cabe, as Walter set the remaining glasses on the desk and Toby began pouring.

Happy retrieved Maria from the stroller and knelt down beside Cabe. "Say hi to grandpa." Maria was looking at everyone in turn, her eyes refusing to settle on anyone until they found Toby.

"Grandpa?" Cabe muttered. "I thought you were trying to make me feel better." But there was a small smile on his face as he watched Maria look around. "May I?"

"No scotch while you're holding the baby."

Cabe faltered for a moment, but then reached for her. As Happy handed her over, he set her down on his lap, and she looked up at him.

"Alright, who's getting the first glass then?" said Toby, lifting the first glass he had poured. "Not gramps."

"Here," said Paige, reaching for it. Toby handed it to her, and she took a sizable sip.

Florence took the second glass, and Toby glanced at Walter.

In the end, Sylvester wound up holding the baby, since he was the only one who didn't have any scotch. He sat down at Toby's old desk and placed her in his lap, holding her up with one hand and clutching his sanitizer with the other.

Cabe was already on his second glass by the time Walter was halfway through his first. Walter hadn't planned to have any, but Toby had insisted, and Cabe had followed up with his own insistence. "Walter, have a damn drink." Walter had quickly taken the offered glass, fully intending to nurse it for a while, but the more Paige glanced at Florence, who was standing close to his side, the more he felt like he needed the alcohol after all.

A little while later, Walter found himself sitting at his desk. Toby and Happy had pulled over chairs on either side of Cabe and were keeping the tipsy agent laughing as much as they could, and Walter had decided to get out of the way for a little bit. He sat back and looked around the garage, seeing all of the former members of Scorpion back where they belonged. It was a satisfying sight, even if the reason why they were all there was heartbreaking.

Paige brought her chair over and sat down beside him. "How are you?"

He stared at her for a moment, not quite believing that she was talking to him. Then he realized that she was on her second glass of scotch. "I'm… okay, all things considered. How are you?"

"I'm… ditto." She glanced at her watch. "Ralph will be here soon. A friend's mom is driving him over."

Walter smiled, eager to see Ralph. He saw Paige watch his reaction.

"You're happy with her, aren't you?"

"Huh?" Walter utterly failed to process the sudden change of subject.

"Florence. You're happy with her."

Walter followed her gaze over to Florence, who was sitting at her own desk and watching them. He did his best to give her a reassuring look. Then he looked back at Paige, who was now watching him again.

"Well, are you?"

"She isn't you, if that's what you're asking."

"That's not what I'm asking."

Walter lifted his glass, then realized that it was empty. "Yes, I'm… I'm happy with her."

"Okay."

He looked at her again. "Okay?"

She took a sip of her scotch, and gave a small shrug as she did so. He didn't know what to make of the gesture, but afterwards they fell into a silence that didn't feel wholly uncomfortable, watching as Sylvester showed Maria images of Super Fun Guy on his phone.

Ralph arrived shortly thereafter, and he paused when he saw Walter and Paige sitting side-by-side. Walter saw a smile cross the boy's face, and worried that they were getting his hopes up. Standing, he quickly walked away from Paige and went to greet her son. "Hey, how was school?"

"Good." Ralph looked from him to Paige and back, then turned towards Cabe. "How is he?"

Cabe chuckled drunkenly at something that Toby said. "He'll be okay," said Walter. "You should go over and say hi."

"He looks intoxicated."

"He is."

Ralph frowned. Perhaps he needed to adjust to this new view of Cabe, who had often acted like a grandfather towards him over the past four years. At present, Cabe was anything but grandfatherly. Nor did he look like the tough agent that Ralph had gotten to know at other times.

Walter walked closer to Ralph and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Everyone has their bad days," he said quietly.

Ralph glanced at him, then slowly approached Cabe. "Agent Gallo?"

Cabe frowned at Ralph. "What are you doing addressing me like that, kid?" he barked. "I'm Cabe to you, you know that by now."

Ralph visibly relaxed at the more familiar harshness. "Just making sure you were still in there somewhere."

Cabe raised his eyebrows, his intoxicated mind unable to process what Ralph meant. Walter understood it.

"I'm really sorry about what happened."

"Don't mention it, kid."

Eventually, Toby and Happy took Maria home, and the others went up to the roof. Walter and Sylvester had to help Cabe up the stairs, and behind them, the women helped each other, watched warily by Ralph.

Cabe sat down heavily on the couch up there. "Man, I haven't had this much to drink since the night my divorce was finalized." He looked up at the stars. "At least it's not raining this time."

Ralph sat down beside him, also looking up. "Yeah, you can see a lot of constellations tonight."

"Constellations? I just see stars, kid."

"Right." Ralph glanced at Walter, then got up from the couch. His mother and Florence quickly plopped down where he had been sitting. Florence giggled a little as she wound up sitting slightly on top of Paige.

"You know, Allie was a wonderful woman," said Cabe, still staring at the stars. "I hope she has a really nice family someday. But every time she talked about having kids, all I could think about was Amanda. Hell, even when I look at Toby and Happy's adorable little girl, I still see Amanda."

Paige leaned her head on his shoulder. "You're always going to miss her. But you have your family all around you right now. Well, except for the ones who already went home."

"You just make sure you always hold on to that kid of yours, and don't ever let go. Never let him go."

"Great, I don't need her to be even more overprotective of me," Ralph muttered, so that only Walter could hear.

"She might not even remember this conversation tomorrow."

"I heard that, Walter. And you're wrong." She turned to Florence. "Florence, tell your boyfriend that we are not all that drunk right now."

"My boyfriend…"

"Yes. He's not my boyfriend anymore, he's yours now. So, you tell him."

Florence's eyes widened, and she seemed to have a lucid moment where she realized whom she was practically leaning against on the couch. She sat up a little straighter, and looked at Walter with an unreadable expression.

"This just got awkward," Ralph muttered.

"Just?"

Ralph turned to Sylvester. "You can drive us home tonight, right?"

"If your mom will let me drive her car."

"Tonight, it's not up to her."

"Um, yes, Ralph. It's my car."

"Sylvester's driving us, Mom."

"I didn't say that wasn't okay. But it's still my decision." Paige pointed one index finger at Ralph and the other at Walter. "Both of you boys need to stop underestimating me. I'm thirty-three years old and I can hold my booze."

Ralph shook his head and turned away from her, walking over to the telescope. Paige watched him go, then looked up at Walter and nodded after him. Walter turned and followed Ralph. "Are you okay?"

Ralph peered into the telescope. "I don't like seeing her when she's drunk."

"Why?"

The boy shrugged. "I guess it's a reminder of her weaknesses."

"Her weaknesses? Ralph, your mother is the strongest woman I know. And everyone has weaknesses."

"She was a lot stronger before you two broke up. Now she just…" Ralph stood straight and looked at him. "She tries to be like she was before, but she's not the same."

Walter looked over at her. She was looking at Cabe and talking quietly, probably doing her best to make him feel better. That was what she did. She still looked like the same person to him.

"Of course, it's even more disturbing seeing Cabe like this. He's… He doesn't seem like the same person at all."

"Well, he loved Allie. Breakups hurt everyone, no matter how strong they might be."

"Maybe I just shouldn't date anyone after all." Ralph turned back to the telescope.

"Well, it took me a while to learn to enjoy dating, and to feel that it was worth the possibility of rejection or eventual heartbreak. But I'm sure you'll meet a girl whom you'll want to spend more time around."

"That's just a crush. I've had those. Dating is a whole different thing."

"Well, it starts with a crush."

"It has to be a mutual crush. I haven't had one of those yet."

"You will. Some girl is going to be absolutely blown away by your intelligence, and is going to want to get to know you better because of it."

"Is that how your first relationship started?"

"It is."

"How old were you?"

"Seventeen."

Ralph grimaced. "So, it's still a few years off for me."

"It might happen sooner for you. You're also a very handsome kid."

"Thanks, Walt."

"But if it doesn't, that's okay. Just keep prioritizing your studies. This is the age to learn everything you can."

Ralph nodded, then looked at him. "Your EQ is higher when you've had some alcohol, isn't it?"

Walter chuckled. "Yes, I've found that to be the case. It helps when preparing to ask women out. Not that you should start drinking alcohol."

"Just don't have any Long Island Iced Teas."

Walter blanched. "I thought we were never mentioning that again."

Ralph laughed. "Sorry, I had to." He looked back over at his mother. "Florence disappeared."

Walter looked over, and saw that Florence was indeed no longer on the couch. "I'll be right back." Heading inside, he went to his bedroom, where he found Florence lying on the bed, awake. "Florence?"

Florence looked at him. "Hi. You remembered I was here."

"How could I forget?" He went over and sat on the bed, looking down at her. "Are you okay?"

"You were… with your family." She reached out and wrapped her hand around his wrist, holding tightly.

"You're part of that family."

"No I'm not. I… I sat next to the woman you loved… and… she… still loves you."

Walter felt like his lungs were starting to harden. "Did she say that?"

"When you were with Ralph at the telescope, Cabe told her to look over at you. That you two were her family, the boys she loves."

Walter felt his skin start to chill, although her hand was warm around his wrist. "What did she say?"

"Nothing. She just stared at you." A tear slipped down onto Florence's nose, and she released his wrist. "Can I have some water, please?"

"Yes." Walter immediately went to retrieve a glass of water. When he returned, he found her sitting up.

"Thanks." She took the water and drank, then looked at him. "You should go be with them."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm going to sleep."

"Okay. I… um…" He decided he should kiss her, hoping it would make her feel better. As he did so, she curled her hand across the back of his head, momentarily deepening the kiss. Then she released him. "Sleep well."

"Thanks."

He got up and left, shutting the door, then stood there for a moment. He needed a moment to calm himself, but he couldn't get out of his head the fact that Paige hadn't denied loving him. Finally accepting that the fact was just going to sit there in his mind, he returned to the roof.

Cabe was now asleep on the couch, and Ralph and Sylvester were trying to decide what to do with him. "Just let him sleep there," said Paige. "You won't be able to move him, and it's a comfortable couch."

"He's going to be very uncomfortable in the morning if he sleeps in a suit," said Sylvester.

"Believe me, he won't even notice that over the hangover that he's going to have." Paige seemed like she had sobered up a little bit. She started to stand, reaching out for Walter's hand, and he helped her. "Lay him down so he's on his side."

Sylvester and Ralph did so.

Paige didn't let go of Walter's hand, but she turned to the others. "We should go home."

Ralph nodded, his eyes falling to the joined hands. Walter anticipated that he would smile again, but he didn't. He probably understood that the hand-holding was just a result of his mother's lingering intoxication.

Sylvester and Ralph led the way inside and down the stairs. "Help me," Paige whispered, her hand rising to Walter's shoulder. Walter helped her down the stairs, holding onto her tightly. When they reached the bottom, her hand briefly crossed the back of his neck, and then she pulled away. "Thank you."

Walter walked them out to the car. Ralph helped his mother in, and then turned and waved. "Goodnight."

Walter waved back. "Goodnight." He waited until they were already well down the street, and then went back inside.

Climbing the stairs, he opened the door to his bedroom as quietly as he could. Florence was sound asleep, the empty glass on the nightstand. Walter took the glass and returned it to the sink, then drank some water himself. Afterwards, he brushed his teeth and returned to the bedroom.

He started to undress, then realized that if he tried to get under the covers, he risked rolling her right off the bed, since she had fallen asleep on top of them. Sighing, he simply took off his shoes and belt, then lay down beside her.

It had been a confusing night, but alcohol seemed to create those as often as it created pleasant ones. The skin on the back of his neck tingled where Paige had touched it. He knew he was going to dream about her tonight, which wouldn't help matters.

At least the occasion had seemed to serve its purpose. Cabe seemed to feel better when everyone was there.

He tried to quiet his mind, listening to the rhythmic sound of Florence's breathing. Eventually, he must have succeeded.


	6. Failure

**A/N: Hey all. Here's the conclusion of part one, complete with a little bit of _Scorpion_ hokey science. I apologize if I make any engineers cringe with this chapter, but you've already survived four seasons of that. And there is considerably more hokey science to come (this is _Scorpion_ , after all), so you might as well get that suspension of disbelief back in your heads from now.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: CBS owns _Scorpion_.**

 **Chapter 6: Failure**

Florence woke up and immediately groaned. "Are you okay?" Walter asked.

"You know the answer to that."

"Yeah. Water?"

"Water."

He got up and went to get her a glass of water, and decided to get two. As bad as Florence felt, Cabe was going to feel even worse when he woke up outside.

He returned to find Florence sitting up. She took the water from him and drank. "I have to go back to my lab. I have a solution there that's really good for hangovers."

"You should bring some back for Cabe. Or, a lot of it."

She nodded and stood. He followed her to make sure that she made it down the stairs alright, then went up to the roof.

Cabe was sitting on the couch and leaning forward, his head between his hands. "Good morning," said Walter.

"Why the hell did you guys let me sleep in my suit?"

Walter was surprised by the question. Apparently, Paige had been wrong. "You fell asleep in it. We… I don't think we could have undressed you."

Cabe didn't say anything to that.

"I brought you some water." Cabe stuck his hand out, and Walter put the glass in his hand, making sure he held it upright. "And Florence is bringing a solution that she says is good for hangovers."

"God bless you for dating a chemist." Cabe straightened and took a long sip of the water. "How much of a buffoon was I last night?"

"You… How much do you remember?"

"I remember getting up here to the couch, and then… Ralph trying to talk to me about constellations. I'm sorry I blew him off."

"I'm sure he understood." So, he didn't remember what he told Paige? Walter would have liked to know what he had been thinking. "Let me see if Florence is back yet."

He went back downstairs, and Florence arrived shortly thereafter with her solution. "Here," she said, handing him the beaker. "I'm going back over there to shower."

"You can shower here."

"No, I'm going to shower there." Without a further word, she left again, and he carried the beaker up to Cabe.

"You want me to drink out of this thing?" Cabe frowned as he took the beaker.

"Just think of it as a normal glass." Walter picked up the empty glass that had contained the water.

Cabe drank and made a face. "What the hell did she put in this?"

"I don't know."

"You gotta take me home so I can shower, and… I gotta get this suit cleaned."

"I'll drop you off."

"Alright." Cabe slowly got to his feet, groaning a little. "And Walter, thank you for yesterday."

"Of course."

* * *

Before going to Elia's, Walter decided to call Sylvester.

"Hello?"

"Sly, I'm about to head over to Elia's."

"You're gonna tell him no, right?"

Walter hesitated. "Do you really think we can do this?"

"I think we already are doing this. You saw how Paige was the other night. I grant you that she may still be a little angry when she's fully sober, but we're clearly moving in the right direction."

Walter didn't say anything. He wished he felt a little more sure of that himself.

"Walter, you and I may not have the highest EQs in the world, but I am confident that we are well on our way to bringing our team back together."

"Alright." Walter took a breath. "I'm going to tell him no."

"Good luck. And afterwards, come over to Ada's. Toby and Happy are taking Maria to introduce her, and Paige and I are meeting them there. You and Cabe should come."

"Do the others know you're inviting me?"

"It was Toby and Happy's suggestion. I'll tell Paige you're coming."

"Alright, we'll meet you there." Walter hung up the phone, feeling decidedly more confident. This really was going to happen.

* * *

"So, what did you think?" Elia sat down in his chair, and bid Walter sit down opposite him.

"I thought it was very interesting." Honestly, Walter had been thinking so much about this conversation and about reuniting Scorpion that he had barely paid attention during the conference.

"I know what that line means coming from you. So, help me make it better."

"Richard, I—"

"Let me give you some idea of what I'm envisioning: Scorpion Solutions, granting everyday people access to the greatest minds in the world to solve their most complicated problems."

"Scorpion Solutions?"

"You do amazing things already with limited resources. Think of all that you could do with unlimited resources. Hell, even you probably can't think of all the possibilities."

"Richard, I'm sorry, but…" Walter leaned forward. "Look, I am very close to getting all of Scorpion back together. Once I have my full team again, it will be just like old times, and we'll be able to do everything again while… retaining our independence."

Elia leaned back and locked his hands together. "Scorpion is reuniting?"

Walter nodded, trying to convey as much confidence as he could. "We're close."

"Alright, Walter, I'll tell you what: I'm going to keep this offer open, pending the reunion of Team Scorpion. If it doesn't work out, you know where to find me."

* * *

"Scorpion Solutions? He must think he's being creative," Cabe muttered as they entered Lancaster.

"Elia's a very creative person, but maybe labelling isn't his strong-suit."

"Well, for the record, I now fully support your having turned him down. Screw the money, I'm not working for an operation called Scorpion Solutions."

Walter chuckled a little as he turned onto Ada's street. As he did so, he recalled the sight of the street lined with emergency vehicles and personnel running every which way. Now, the suburban street seemed impossibly peaceful by comparison.

Parking behind Paige's car, he got out and looked at the house. From the outside, it looked like a normal house, but the structure was now lined with extra beams and plates designed to protect anything and everything from causing any damage to the PVC bubble inside. It had all been done by the female engineers on Happy's chat website. In the event of a crisis, the house was now probably the safest place around for miles.

David met them at the door. "Hello, Walter. Agent Gallo."

Walter shook his hand. "David, it's great to see you again."

"Any update from the algorithm?"

"No, but it's still running. There are a lot of people in the world to analyze, and I'm not giving up until I find a match."

David nodded. Walter had a feeling that he had given up after the first year, as he took the response more in stride every time he heard it. "Everyone else is already inside. Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you." Walter and Cabe entered the house and joined the others outside the bubble.

The inside of the bubble now looked like half a teenage girl's room and half a mechanic's workshop. Dividing the two halves was the large, wide-screen monitor that Ada used to remote into her Caltech classes. The girl herself was casually twirling a monkey wrench between her fingers as she stood at the bubble, directly opposite Maria, who was examining her curiously.

"Hi, Walter."

"Hello, Ada. Still keeping up with the engineering, I see."

"And you're still a wackadoodle, I see. Agent Gallo."

"That's Cabe to you, kid."

Ada smiled and turned back to Maria. "And you are just super-duper cute. You know that, don't you?"

Maria reached out and put her hand against the PVC film, catching some in a fist.

"Careful, sweetie," said Toby, pulling her back a little from the bubble. Maria didn't let go.

"It's alright, Toby. She's nowhere near strong enough to cause any kind of damage. Heck, I doubt even you're strong enough to damage this thing now."

"Was that a challenge? I'll have you know I get baby-lifting exercise every day now. Check it out." With his free arm, he flexed.

Ada giggled. "Yes, very impressive."

Happy glanced over from where she was standing opposite the machine on Ada's work table, and rolled her eyes.

"How did it go with Elia?" Sylvester asked, from where he and Paige were sitting on one of the two benches that David had installed in front of the bubble for social visits.

Paige frowned. "What about Elia?"

"He made an offer to purchase Scorpion 2.0," Walter explained. "I turned him down."

Paige's expression remained, and her gaze drifted from his face to the empty space over his shoulder. Walter wondered why she was reacting this way to the news, but he wasn't about to ask her in front of such an audience.

"Have you had any fun projects lately?" Ada asked him. "I know all about theirs." She gestured to the Centipede members.

"A few," Walter replied. "Um…" He tried to quickly think of something that would be interesting to an engineering-oriented mind, but nothing surfaced. "Nothing that's been particularly engineering-intensive."

"Really? That's a shame."

Walter looked at the machine on the table, walking up beside Happy. "That's a copy of the generator that powers your filters. You're attempting to make it more efficient."

"Attempting? Try succeeding, to the tune of .34 percent," said Happy, the pride evident in her voice.

"I'm doing my best to reduce the strain that it puts on Dad's electric bill, since I'm diverting that strain to a different project," said Ada.

"Yeah, if you think this generator's impressive, wait 'til you hear about Ariel."

"Who is Ariel?" Walter asked.

"We really can't just call it the Ada-bot?" asked Toby. "It feels much more appropriately science-fiction-y."

"We are not calling it the Ada-bot," said Ada. She walked over to her large monitor. "It's Ada's Remote-Integration Experience Liberator. Ariel."

"That still sounds very science-fiction-y," said Walter, but his curiosity was piqued.

"It's a remote-controlled interface that will be able to travel around the campus at Caltech," Ada explained. "I'll be able to see, hear, and speak through it, using this." She held up the VR headset that they had given her. "I made some modifications to it."

"Now anywhere her friends go, she can, too," said Toby. "On campus, at least."

"I'll be able to control it via the campus's wi-fi network. One of my professors is even supplying a signal-booster, to make sure I don't lose service."

"That's very impressive," said Walter. He genuinely meant it.

"Have you come up with a solution for the potential bullying problem yet?" Sylvester asked.

Ada's face fell. "Debbie Downer over there thinks I need to worry about people damaging Ariel on campus."

"In my experience, drunk frat boys can be very aggressive with manifestations of superior intelligence. A robot would be a prime target."

"It's a remote interface, not a robot."

"To them, it would look like a robot."

"There's security on campus," said Walter.

"And yet bad things still happen."

"You could always arm it with a supply of pepper spray," Paige suggested.

"Ouch." Toby reflexively covered his eyes with his free hand.

"Maybe." Ada looked accusingly at Sylvester. "You're not ruining this for me. I'm finally going to be able to hang out with my friends."

Sylvester held up his hands innocently.

"Friends?" Walter asked. "So, you're able to communicate with your peers to a sufficient degree at present to be able to consider them friends?"

"Walter…" Paige muttered.

"It's okay, Paige," said Ada. "He's in wackadoodle mode, and it's not an entirely inappropriate question. I'm currently able to communicate with my peers via their computers, though obviously they typically have to be stationary for that. And yes, I communicate sufficiently with one particular group that I refer to them as friends. We even facetime occasionally, so I can sort of feel like I'm outside and moving around, although it will be much better once Ariel is ready."

This might have been what impressed Walter the most. She had been able to make friends at Caltech without ever setting foot on campus, and from the sounds of it, she'd done a better job than he had in college even when he'd been there in person. He felt… jealous.

It didn't make a whole lot of sense to him. Friendships typically arose through shared experiences, but Ada was hardly capable of sharing in the experiences of her peers, except in the limited circumstances where she was able to remote in. He was at a loss to explain how she had been able to build her friendships, but he knew that it wouldn't be appropriate to engage in such a line of questioning.

"She's even made one special friend in particular," said Toby. "How's Cecilia doing?"

Ada turned pink. "She's… um… she's good."

"Well, and who might Cecilia be?" asked Cabe.

The pink deepened to red. "She's… a similarly mechanically-inclined and… very pretty woman." This last part came out in barely more than a whisper. "She's been helping with Ariel."

"She's certainly shaking your confidence," said Cabe.

"I'll bet she's got all kinds of experiences in mind to show Ada," said Toby.

"You better not have meant that in the way that it sounded," said Happy.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, love."

Ada had hidden behind her monitor.

David entered the room. "Hi, would anyone like any coffee? I'm…" He trailed off, noticing that his daughter wasn't visible in her bubble. "Ada?"

Ada peeked out above her monitor. "Yeah, Dad, I'm here." The visible parts of her face were still pink.

"Everything okay, sweetie?"

"Yup, totally fine. You can go make that coffee."

"I'll have some," said Cabe. "Thank you."

"Alright." David gave his daughter one last confused glance, then left the room.

Ada stepped out from behind the monitor and sent Toby a glare.

"Walter, can I talk to you for a minute?" Paige asked.

Walter looked at her, surprised. "Uh, sure." He followed her out of the room. David was in the kitchen, so instead they entered a dining room that looked like it hadn't been used for anything other than storage in the past five years.

"It says something that a girl who's lived in a literal bubble for most of the past five years is more socially adjusted than a genius who's able to walk and talk in person in everyday life, doesn't it?"

"Ouch."

"That was for questioning her about having friends."

"She said it wasn't a wholly inappropriate question. And I'm a wackadoodle, remember?" Walter couldn't believe he had just called himself that.

Paige was also taken aback. "Uh… Fine, whatever… That's not what I want to talk to you about. I want to talk to you about—" Suddenly, her phone started beeping. She pulled it out and looked at it, and her face fell.

"Paige!" came Sylvester's shout from the other room.

"I see it!"

"What's going on?" Walter asked.

"A 6.4 earthquake north of Bakersfield." She quickly returned to the other room. "Guys, get ready to head out."

Walter followed her. "Cabe, we're going with them."

"No, you're not."

"We know what's happened, and you can't stop us. You could use two extra pairs of hands."

"Especially since the Doc isn't coming," said Happy.

"I had a feeling you'd say that," said Toby, who was still holding Maria.

"We're more likely to need an engineer than a behaviorist." Happy reached into her pocket and pulled out two comms, sticking one in her ear. "Here." She handed the other one to Walter. "Sylvester, you also have an extra comm."

"Yup." Sylvester pulled out his extra comm and gave it to Cabe. "Please don't get it too dirty."

"Can I have a comm?" asked Ada.

"We only have the two extras."

"I'll keep you filled in," said Toby. "David, you don't mind if Maria and I stick around a while longer, do you?"

"No, of course not," said David, who had returned to see what the commotion was about. "Good luck."

"Thank you." Happy turned and kissed Maria's cheek. "I'll be back soon, sweetie."

"Don't I get a kiss?" Toby asked.

"No." Happy led the way out of the house.

"Walter, give Cabe and Sylvester your keys," Paige instructed. "You're riding with me."

Walter frowned, but handed his keys to Cabe and joined Paige in her car.

They were already well on their way to Bakersfield by the time she told him to take his comm out, removing her own.

"Here we go again," Walter heard Toby say before he removed his comm.

"About the other night," said Paige.

Walter expected her to follow up the sentence fragment with the rest of the sentence, but it never came. "What about it?"

"I was drunk. That's all it was."

"I assume you're referring to holding my hand and caressing the back of my neck?"

"Among other things."

"Among what other things?"

She pursed her lips. "That's not the point. The point is that it was only because of the alcohol."

"Okay. Consider your point made." Walter tried to play down the impact of her words in his head. He reminded himself that Florence was back at home.

Paige fell silent for a while, then spoke again. "Why did you turn down Elia's offer?"

It felt like a heavy question. How much had she picked up on regarding her teammates' communications with Walter behind her back? "To keep Scorpion independent."

It was a moment before she responded. "Scorpion 2.0, you mean."

"Right." Walter was trying hard to find anything behind her words, but Paige was impossible to read when she didn't want to be read. He had no idea what she was thinking.

Again, silence fell. Walter thought about asking her why she had asked about Elia's offer, but his phone buzzed. "Happy says to turn on the radio."

Paige did so. Reports of the damage from the earthquake were beginning to come in. Walter shifted his attention, listening to the information and considering everything that they might have to do when they arrived.

* * *

"Oh, this is so much less fun than the last time we were alone in a closet together."

"Really, you're bringing that up now? Push!"

Walter pushed hard against the heavy door that was threatening to crush them.

They had entered a house where they had heard a woman screaming. Searching for the woman, they had found a closet with a hidden door inside. Walter had tried the door, only to discover that the surrounding wall was no longer capable of holding the door's weight.

"Walter? Paige?" Happy's voice came over the comms. "Where are you guys?"

"We're in here," Paige replied, her focus on the door.

"Can you be a little more specific?"

"Not really."

Walter managed to recall the number of the house they had run into. "House number sixteen on the street where we parked. Closet of the master bedroom."

"A closet? Again, guys?" Toby commented.

"Not now, Toby," Paige replied.

"I'll be there in minutes," said Sylvester. "Hold on."

"We may not have minutes," Walter replied. His arms were tired, and they weren't getting the door any further from them.

Fortunately, they managed to hold out, and Sylvester arrived to help them push away the door.

"Thanks, Sly." Walter got to his feet. Behind where the hidden door had been was a staircase going downward.

"Well, this isn't creepy at all," said Paige, peering into the darkness below.

An electronic buzzing sound could be heard, and Walter felt the need to check it out. "Come on."

"Really, we're going down the creepy hidden staircase?" asked Sylvester.

"Can you at least wait 'til I get there?" asked Cabe. "I've still got the gun."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," said Walter, backing away from the staircase and waiting for Cabe.

"Me too," said Happy. "I've got… a wrench."

"Now there's a real deadly weapon," said Toby.

"Make another comment like that and I'll show you how deadly it can be."

"Somehow, I don't think you'd enjoy being a single parent."

Paige stiffened.

Walter watched her face. "I don't think he meant to imply anything negative about single parents."

"Shut up."

Toby heard the exchange. "Oops, sorry, Paige. No offense meant."

Paige pursed her lips, still looking upset. Walter couldn't remember her being so sensitive about it before, but maybe he hadn't noticed.

When Cabe and Happy arrived, Cabe led the way down the staircase, weapon drawn. At the bottom, he found a light switch, and flipped it.

"Holy cow," muttered Sylvester. They were in a room about twenty feet long, and the walls on either side were covered in guns.

"This person's a gun collector?" asked Paige.

"I don't think so," said Cabe. "This isn't a varied cache of weaponry. And a lot of this stuff is banned. I think these people are arms dealers."

"Great," Sylvester muttered, looking anxiously back up the stairs.

"Uh, not good!" Walter's gaze reflexively snapped over to Happy at the words. She was standing in front of a generator which was partially hidden by wooden barrels full of ammunition.

"That's a generator," said Paige.

"Two points for Captain Obvious. And it's an overloading generator."

"They stored the ammunition right next to the generator? Really?" said Cabe.

"Even I know that's a stupid idea," Paige muttered.

"A spark in the wrong direction and half the block will go up in flames." Happy knelt down in front of the generator. "Toby, get your comm sterilized and give it to Ada."

"Hang on, I'm changing Maria."

"Now, Doc!" Happy sighed, then pulled out her phone. "Screw this." Activating her hotspot, she dialed Ada on facetime.

Fortunately, Ada was never far from her phone, and her face appeared after less than a second. "Happy?"

"Ada, take a look at this." She turned the phone to show her the generator and the ammunition. "Can you help me out?"

"Oh my God. Yes I can."

There was the sound of a door opening upstairs. "We've got company," Cabe muttered, raising his weapon. Walter stepped out of the way of the stairs, pulling Paige with him.

"What are the odds it's just the police?" Sylvester asked shakily, backing up to the wall.

There was a noise from the top of the stairs. Cabe aimed his weapon. "Freeze!"

A moment of silence seemed to pull all the air out of the room. Then Cabe darted aside as gunfire sounded. Peering back around to the stairs, he returned fire.

A stalemate quickly developed. "Who the hell are you?" came the yell from the top of the stairs.

"Department of Homeland Security. Put your weapons down."

"Oh, you here to take the guns? We ain't letting you do that." More gunfire.

"Walter, find me something louder. There are police in the neighborhood, and we're gonna get their attention."

Walter looked at the wall of guns near him. "Uh, guns are not my area of expertise."

"If it looks louder, it probably is."

Walter pulled a large weapon off the wall and carefully brought it to Cabe. It was even heavier than it looked.

Cabe took it quickly and checked for ammunition. "Of course it's loaded." Turning, he fired it up the stairs, and Walter immediately covered his ears. Yes, it was definitely louder.

"Oh, you don't know what you're doing, old man," came the voice at the top of the stairs. "This place is already torn up from the quake. You're gonna bring it all down on yourself."

"I guess I'll be taking your guns with me, then."

"Heh, the guns can be dug up after you're dead."

Walter glanced at Happy. She was working carefully according to Ada's instructions.

Cabe fired the louder weapon again. "Come on, cops," he muttered, "follow the noise."

Sure enough, moments later, there was more commotion from upstairs. "Police! Drop your weapons!"

"Shit!" There was more gunfire, but this time it wasn't directed downstairs. The team waited until it fell silent.

"Please tell me the cops won," Sylvester muttered.

"Everyone, freeze! This is the police!"

Everyone except for Happy sighed with relief. "Department of Homeland Security," Cabe replied. "Thanks for the help."

"Department of… what the hell?" The officer reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around.

"Arms dealers, from the looks of it."

"Damn."

"Happy, how's it going over there?" Walter asked.

"We're good for the moment. Officer, help me get this thing away from anything explosive."

The officer took another moment to realize what was going on, then quickly helped Happy move the generator away from the ammunition.

"Oh my god, we did it," came Ada's voice from Happy's phone.

"Well, I'll be…" The officer shook his head, looking around the room. "They could've armed a militia out of this room." He turned to Cabe. "How did Homeland find out about this?"

"Completely by accident, actually. We came to help out with the quake."

"Well, there's plenty of that that still needs doing. We're happy to have your help." The officer took another look around the room, then returned to the stairs, shaking his head. "This is gonna be a fun bit of paperwork. Arms dealers out here?"

* * *

A couple of hours later, Walter and Sylvester found Paige and Happy leaning against the hood of Happy's car, talking quietly with their comms out. "Is everything okay?"

Happy glanced at him, then looked down. "I'm sorry about what happened before… in there. I… I froze."

"What do you mean?"

"With the generator. I could have done it myself, but I couldn't… I kept thinking about Maria, and how I needed to get home to her. If it hadn't been for Ada…"

"It's okay, Happy," said Paige. "You're a mother now. Your entire thought process is different. You'll get used to it."

"It wouldn't have been okay if we had all blown up."

"But we didn't. Maria is always going to be at the front of your mind now, but you'll find that it motivates you even more to do everything you can to survive. You're going to be just as good as you always were, if not even better."

"I hope you're right."

As Walter watched Paige encourage Happy, he was reminded of just how critical she had always been to the team. And he had to admit to himself that he was as impressed by her as ever.

Cabe approached the group. "So, it turns out our bad guys aren't actually arms dealers after all. They're just anti-government nutjobs, gearing up for the next civil war."

"Even better," Happy muttered.

"I do agree that's better than arms dealers, but only marginally," said Sylvester.

"Well, if they ever get out of jail, they're going to have to start from scratch," said Paige. "Who's taking custody of the guns?"

"I spoke with Carson. Forensics will be over here shortly to bag everything."

"Alright." Happy stood straight. "I'll see you guys back at Ada's." Paige stepped away from her car as she got into it, and they watched as she drove off.

"What's with her?" Cabe asked. "We did a good job today."

Paige looked at him, her expression once again unreadable. Then she turned to Sylvester. "Sylvester, you're riding back with me this time. And take your comm out."

* * *

Walter spent much of the trip wondering what Paige was talking to Sylvester about in her car. He couldn't help but feel concerned.

He arrived at Ada's house immediately behind her, and she pointed at him as they got out of their respective cars. "You're not going back inside there."

Sylvester gave Walter his most apologetic expression. "I'm sorry, Walter. I had to tell her everything."

Walter knew he couldn't blame him. Paige was well-versed at getting Sylvester to tell her everything, and that was clearly her objective during the trip back here.

"Go inside, Sylvester." Paige shut the door of her car a little too hard, and then stalked over to Walter. "You really do think I'm stupid, don't you, O'Brien?"

Walter frowned. What exactly had Sylvester said to her? "Not at all."

"You thought you could reunite Scorpion behind my back? And then what? Once you had my team, you were going to try to force me back in?"

"I… hoped to do that… via communication. I mean, we were never going to force you to do anything. We… this could never happen until you were ready."

"Until I was ready?" Paige looked away, her eyes wide. "Really?" She looked back at him, then pointed her finger up at his face. "I am not going to slap you right now, but understand that I really want to."

Walter was very confused. "What… I don't… What exactly is wrong?"

Paige stared at him for a moment, then sighed and shook her head. "Alright, let me dumb this down for you." That stung. "There is nothing that I am not ready for. But I am done trying to nurture you out of this social adolescence that you are permanently trapped in. I'm done, Walter. We're done. And so is Scorpion."

* * *

 _ **Six Months Later…**_

"I'm glad I could help. Thank you for calling Scorpion Solutions." Walter hung up the phone and looked up at the clock. 6 PM. The day was done, and with it, the week.

Standing, he stretched, then turned to Cabe. "We're all done."

"Right on time." Cabe stood as well. "Nothing like 6 PM on a Friday." Pushing aside the pile of paperwork on his desk, he fell into step beside Walter as they made for the elevator.

Elia was inside. "Walter, how did everything go today?"

"Flawlessly," Walter replied, giving his boss his most cordial smile as he and Cabe joined him in the elevator.

"Excellent. Here, a big job came in for you for next week." He pulled a folder from his briefcase and handed it to Walter. "Take a look at it over the weekend, if you can."

"Will do."

"What time is Zoe's flight getting in?" Cabe asked.

Elia looked at his watch, even though he knew perfectly well what time it was. That was a habit of his. "About an hour. I should make it to the airport with time to spare."

"She'll be happy that you're there to greet her."

"To the extent that she's happy with anything I do these days."

Walter watched the numbers inside the elevator until they reached the laboratories. The doors opened.

"Well, enjoy your weekend with her," said Cabe.

"Thank you. Have a good weekend."

Walter and Cabe stepped out of the elevator and walked down the white hallway until they reached the large windows overlooking the chemistry lab. The scientists inside were still bustling to and fro, as was often the case when the day was supposed to end. Florence spotted him, and gave him a smile and a wave.

He watched as she took care of a last few items, then turned for the door.

"Hi, babe." Removing and disposing of her gloves, she walked over and kissed him.

"How was your afternoon?"

"Just fine. Yours?"

"Also fine."

She turned to Cabe. "You're coming over tonight, right?"

"Well… I…"

"That's a yes."

"I don't want to impose."

"Cabe, it's Friday night. You're not spending it alone. And you're not imposing, we're insisting."

"Well, alright." Cabe glanced at Walter, who merely smiled.

"What's this?" Florence looked down at the folder Walter was holding.

"A job for next week."

"Excellent." Taking off her lab coat, she threw it over her arm and led the way back to the elevator.

* * *

She detoured to the mailbox before they entered their apartment. "The rent from the subtenants came in."

"Good." Walter peered over her shoulder at the envelope. They had managed to sublet the garage at a substantially higher rate than their own lease, making a good monthly profit off it.

He led the way into the apartment. "I'll get started on dinner."

"I'll be there in a moment." Florence disappeared into their bedroom to deposit her things.

"How can I help?" Cabe asked.

It wasn't long before dinner had come and gone. Florence glanced at Walter. "Why don't we continue with BBT?"

"Really?"

"Oh, come on, you've been laughing."

"It's a bunch of people trying to be like us, and failing miserably. I've been laughing out of pity at how miserable their attempt to understand us is."

"It's satire, it's supposed to be wildly off the mark. That's why it's funny."

"Well, I should get going," said Cabe.

"Are you sure?" Florence asked.

"Yeah, I'm definitely going to take a pass on that show. And I know you're going to get Walter to watch it with you."

"See, the vote is two to one here," Walter pointed out. There was a knock on the door. "I'll get it."

He stood and went to the door, opening it. When he saw who was on the other side, he froze.

"Hello, Walter."

Mark Collins.


	7. Of Leopards and Spots

**A/N: Hey all. Part two, which consists of chapters 7 through 11, is now fully written, so I will be able to continue posting with the same frequency as before. This part is much more plot-heavy, and a fair bit darker, than the previous one, but those of you who have been commenting about too much Walter/Florence will enjoy it more.**

 **Of course, because it's more plot, it's also more _Scorpion_ hokey science, so again, suspend your disbelief just like you did with the show.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: CBS owns _Scorpion_.**

 **Chapter 7: Of Leopards and Spots**

"What the hell are you doing here?" Cabe demanded, coming up behind Walter.

Collins held up his hands. "I come in peace."

"Yeah, and you'll be leaving in handcuffs." Cabe pulled out his phone.

"I cut off service to the building. My apologies to your neighbors."

"Phone and internet, I assume," said Walter, looking at Cabe's phone.

Cabe nodded in confirmation. "How did you get into the building?"

"Please, those fob readers are so easy to manipulate that I almost waited to find a more difficult way in."

Walter could confirm that, having forgotten his fob a few times early on. "What are you doing here, Mark?"

Collins quickly glanced back and forth along the hallway. "Are you going to invite me in?"

Walter immediately thought to decline, but then decided it would probably be best to play along and see what Collins wanted. He was probably going to try to trick them, but Walter was on guard for it. "Sure." He allowed Collins to enter the apartment.

Collins walked in and saw Florence. "Oh my, you are even more beautiful in person. I'm Mark." He held out his hand.

Florence declined to shake. "Florence."

"Have a seat," said Walter. "Can I get you anything?"

"Um, yes. Water, please."

Walter filled a glass from the sink. "So, what are you doing here?"

Collins chuckled. "You still haven't quite mastered small talk, I see. Don't you even want to know where I've been during the past year and a half?"

"You spent most of the time in Russia. You were briefly in the United States before Cabe's trial, and then again last summer, before travelling to South America for a few months." Cabe and Florence both looked at him in surprise.

Collins smiled. "Well, you really are almost as good as I am. Very impressive." He looked back and forth between Walter and Florence. "And you know, it is great to see that you're finally in a healthy relationship. I genuinely mean that. Honestly, I'm jealous of you in that regard."

Walter glanced at Florence. "Uh, thanks."

"Cut the crap, Collins," said Cabe. "What are you doing here?"

Collins turned to him. "There isn't much to say about you right now, is there? Your life hasn't been remotely interesting since you split with the old fiancé several months ago. Just another retired government employee switching to grunt work in the private sector."

"It might make my life more interesting to put my fist through your face."

"Indeed it would, but you want to hear what I have to say first."

"You're not saying much of anything right now."

"Touché." Collins turned back to Walter. "Well, I suppose I'll cut to the chase. I need your help."

"With what?"

"Well, when I was in Russia, I made certain connections. And those connections had… other connections."

"You mean the mob?" Cabe asked.

"Mob feels like a grossly inadequate term for it. I outsmarted them, had them wrapped around my pinky for a little while, as they say. But then I made a… social miscalculation. You know how those go."

Walter had certainly made his share of social miscalculations before.

"So, they're looking for you," said Cabe. "You'd be safe from them in federal prison."

"Yeah, we both know that's not true."

"If you seriously think we're going to help you, you're not nearly as smart as you think you are."

"Well, actually, I am. You see, Homeland received an anonymous but very detailed tip about a mob safehouse outside of DC. The details were just sophisticated enough to ensure that they would put your former teammates on the case when things went wrong. What the tip failed to mention was that the Russians knew they were coming."

Walter's gut twisted into knots. Team Centipede had been forced off the west coast by the dominance of Scorpion Solutions, and had relocated to DC for easier communication with Homeland and other agencies. Increasing their government work by several times, they were able to fully reestablish their workload and income without having Elia and Walter for competition.

"You son of a bitch," Cabe muttered.

"I do what I have to do to survive. So, it's very basic. You help me, and you save your friends. Or, former friends, I guess."

Walter ignored the insult. This wasn't adding up, of course. Collins was perfectly capable of hiding from the mob forever. They must have had something that he wanted, something that he couldn't hack in to obtain.

Whatever it was, they had to save the others.

He turned to Florence. "Let's book a flight to Washington as soon as possible."

"I'm afraid I won't be able to reimburse you for my ticket immediately," said Collins. "But I will, I promise. If I don't wind up in prison, that is."

"Or worse," Cabe muttered hopefully.

Collins accessed his phone. "I'm removing the signal blocker on your building, so that you can check flights."

Florence immediately began checking. "There's nothing tonight. Bad weather on the east coast."

"I'll need a place to stay the night," said Collins. He looked at Cabe. "Can I stay with you? I don't want to intrude on their… them." He gestured towards Walter and Florence.

"Only if you don't mind sleeping on a hardwood floor."

"I've slept on worse, believe me."

"We'll give you money for a hotel," said Walter.

"I appreciate that."

"A cheap hotel."

"That's fine."

"Alright, we've got a flight at 9:25 tomorrow morning," said Florence.

"Excellent," said Collins. "Well, I'll leave you to salvage the remains of a pleasant evening. The money?"

Walter gave him the money for the hotel, and he left.

"We should have the police pay a visit to his hotel during the night," said Cabe.

"No," Walter replied, "we're going to use him."

"You think you can one-up him this time?"

"Collins is an expert at hiding. Well, not from me, but it's highly unlikely that the Russians have someone like me. He can hide from them for as long as he wants to. So, that's not why he's going to all this trouble."

"So, he's using us. That's not a surprise."

"He wants something that the Russians have. And I have a hunch that whatever it is, it would probably be safer in U.S. government hands than in the possession of the Russian mob. So, we're going to let him take it, and we're going to rescue the others. And Homeland will be waiting for him as soon as he tries to escape."

Cabe considered the plan. "We better not be underestimating him again."

"We're not. By now, I have a comprehensive understanding of how Collins operates. He won't deceive me again."

"I hope you're right. In any event, we have to save the others, and he'll help with that in order to achieve whatever his personal objective is. I've still got some friends at Homeland. I'll let them know we're coming and what the plan is."

Walter nodded.

"Get some sleep. There's nothing that we can do for the others right now."

Walter sighed, hating that that was true. As Cabe left, he turned to Florence.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "I mean, never mind, that's a terrible question. Of course you're not okay. Is there anything I can do?"

Walter shook his head. "We should get to bed early, make sure we're well-rested tomorrow."

Florence walked over and embraced him. "Everything is going to be okay. I promise you that."

He hugged her tightly. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

* * *

As the plane descended over the Potomac towards Reagan National Airport, Walter looked out the window at the gleaming buildings of the national capital. He had already been to this city several times, but it felt decidedly different now as the new home of Team Centipede.

Ralph would presently be on the campus at Georgetown. Walter wondered what he knew about his mother's situation. Under different circumstances, Walter would immediately have wanted to travel to the university to see him. He would be sure to visit Ralph after the mission was finished.

Florence was holding his hand tightly, and had been for the whole flight. Occasionally, he would squeeze her hand back to let her know that he was okay. There was no practical value in worrying too much until there was something that they could do.

A couple of times, Walter had caught Collins looking enviously at their joined hands from across the aisle. His jealousy of the relationship certainly seemed genuine, and almost made Walter pity him. By his own actions, Collins had forced himself into an inescapably solitary life. Walter had thought, in a different era of his own life, that such isolation might not be so bad, but had learned otherwise. Perhaps Collins was belatedly arriving at his own realization of that fact.

They landed, and Walter watched as Cabe pulled out his phone. He sent a message, and then looked over at Walter and nodded. Walter nodded back.

Two agents met them at the gate, wasting no time in arresting Collins.

"You can consider your friends deceased," Collins sneered.

"Not yet, they're not," Cabe replied. "Candace?" His attention was caught by a third agent that appeared, an authoritative-looking woman with dark hair pulled back into a bun.

"Hello, Cabe."

"It's great to see you."

"Likewise. Thank you for bringing in Mr. Collins. And if you hadn't gone and retired, you might be getting gratitude of a different sort back at headquarters."

"Well…" Cabe gave a small shrug. "The time had to come eventually."

The agent named Candace turned to Walter and Florence. "Mr. O'Brien, I'm happy to finally meet you. I'm Agent Johnson. Thank you for your help, as well. You are, of course, welcome to accompany us back to headquarters. And so is your significant other. We're cheaper than an uber."

"We would appreciate that," Walter replied. Ignoring the glare from Collins, he and Florence followed the agents out of the terminal.

* * *

Walter looked up as Collins was brought into the conference room.

"Well, this isn't your typical interrogation room." Collins looked at Walter, Florence, and Cabe in turn. "They get to watch? Did you at least make them buy tickets?" He winced as the agent escorting him shoved him down into an empty chair.

"Welcome, Mr. Collins," said Agent Johnson. She opened the folder on the table in front of her, then shut it again after a brief examination. "I'm not going to attempt to relay the contents of your file, as I confess I don't understand most of it. You know perfectly well what crimes you are charged with."

"Imagine my surprise." Collins nodded towards Walter. "You should let him do the interrogation."

Agent Johnson cracked a wry smile. "Mr. Collins, there isn't going to be an interrogation."

"Oh? You're going off-book, are you?"

"Call it that if you'd like. As a matter of fact, you're not even going to be spending the night in federal custody."

"Come again?" said Cabe. He leaned forward. "Candace, what are you getting at?"

"I'll explain everything in a moment, Cabe. We're just waiting on one more guest." She turned and looked expectantly at the door behind her. Walter followed her gaze, frowning.

When the door opened, he couldn't help but float to his feet. His body moved of its own accord as she entered. So did his voice. "Paige?"

"Hello, Walter." She looked… exhausted. Her clothes were dirty, and the telltale marks on her wrists showed that she had recently been bound. She glanced at everyone in turn until her eyes found Collins. They exchanged glares for a moment, and then Paige took the empty seat beside Agent Johnson.

Walter sat back down heavily as relief flooded his nervous system. She was alive.

"Well, Paige Dineen," said Collins. "Long time no see."

"Not long enough," Paige replied.

"What exactly is going on here?" Cabe asked. "Paige, don't get me wrong, I'm delighted that you're safe, but… Candace, what did you do?"

"I made a deal. The Russians want Mr. Collins, and we want our people back. They released Miss Dineen as a gesture of good faith."

"That's against your rules," said Collins.

"We only have one rule, Mr. Collins: Do whatever it takes to protect the United States of America, and its people."

"They're going to torture me. You'll be abetting an international crime."

"And I'm sure there will be plenty of people around to hear you cry about it."

"Candace…" Cabe began, but he didn't seem sure where to go from there.

"You made more difficult decisions than this when you were here, Cabe. And I greatly admired you for it."

Walter briefly wondered whether she included Baghdad among those decisions that she admired him for, but he quickly shook away the thought. He couldn't afford to let that old anger resurface.

"You're a coward," Collins sneered. "This is how the government always solves its problems, dealing in the shadows and deceiving everyone else."

"Sticks and stones, Mr. Collins." Agent Johnson collected her folder and stood, looking at the agent who had escorted Collins in. "Let's get ready to make the trade." Then she turned to the others. "I'll give you four some time to reconnect in private." She left, and the other agent escorted Collins back out of the room.

Walter's eyes fell back to Paige. "Does Ralph know you're okay?"

She nodded. "I just spoke to him."

"Good… Um…"

"The others are okay. We were just being held in their safehouse. They weren't… hurting us. They want Collins."

Walter felt more relief, but he still struggled to find more to say to her.

"Good," said Cabe. "And the fact that they let you go shows they're going to follow through on the deal."

Paige frowned a little. "Well, they said I wasn't needed."

"Needed?"

"There's a woman there. She's also very smart. She already knew about each of the members of the team and what their areas of expertise are."

"Collins tipped them off that you were coming, in order to guarantee that we would come along with him."

Paige sighed. "Of course he did. Toby figured out that he must have been the anonymous tipper the moment the Russians mentioned him. It was a trap."

"What did they mean by 'needed'?" Walter asked. "Needed for what?"

"I don't know if they meant anything in particular. They just… they chose me because I'm of the least value."

"That isn't true," Walter replied immediately, without analyzing the relevant facts.

"I appreciate that, Walter, but as far as they are concerned, it is true. The woman was like you, but… colder, like you used to be."

Like he used to be… before her.

"Did you get her name?" Cabe asked.

"Anna something."

Cabe glanced at Walter. "Not an uncommon name among Russian women, but see if you can find anything."

Walter wasn't sure he would be able to divert his attention to research that was likely to prove fruitless. Not with Paige here.

"I'll check," said Florence. Reaching into Walter's bag, she pulled out his laptop and placed it on the table in front of her.

He watched her with raised eyebrows. "You'll check?"

She typed in his password. "I know your algorithms by now. I'm sure it will take me only a second longer than it would take you."

"Well, that's… confident of you." As he said this, he saw her send the briefest of glances towards Paige.

"Um, we should help them with the preparations," said Paige.

"Paige, you don't need to do anything right now," said Cabe. "You've been through enough. You should take some time to relax."

"I need to do something." She pushed off of the table and got to her feet, turning away.

Cabe stood as well. "Let's talk outside for a moment."

She looked at him for a second. "Alright." Walter watched as they left the room.

He turned back to find Florence looking at him. "You can't have finished the algorithm already."

"I haven't," she replied, but she kept looking at him.

"Then what is it?"

She worked her jaw for a second, as though trying to speak words that couldn't quite reach her mouth. Then she turned back to the computer. "Nothing… We'll talk about it later."

"Do you want me to take over?"

"No."

* * *

Of course, they all insisted on coming along for the trade. That meant that Walter, Paige, and Florence wound up in the back of the prison van, with Collins and his escorting agent, while Cabe rode with Agent Johnson. Homeland wanted to drive as few conspicuous vehicles as possible through suburban Maryland.

Florence sat across from the agent, eyeing his sunglasses. "Can I try your sunglasses?"

"Excuse me, Ma'am?"

"It's Miss. Can I try your sunglasses?"

"Um, sure." The agent handed her his sunglasses, and she put them on.

She turned to Walter. "What do you think, babe?"

"Uh, it's… different."

She smiled at the response, and then took the sunglasses off. Reaching up, she placed them directly on the agent's face, much to his surprise. Her hand lingered under his nose just long enough for him to inhale the substance that was on it, and he was unconscious in a matter of seconds.

"Well acted," said Collins. "I'm impressed." He looked at Walter. "Do you have the key?"

Walter showed him the key that Cabe had lifted and passed to him.

"What is happening?" Paige asked.

"Good. Though if you'd let me come up with the plan, I wouldn't have had to sit in handcuffs for hours."

"If you'd come up with the plan, we wouldn't have been able to trust you."

"What is going on?" Paige demanded.

"Plus, I confess that I feel some enjoyment at seeing you in handcuffs. They look very appropriate on you."

"Touché."

"Gentlemen!" Paige yelled. "Someone is going to tell me, right now, what is going on."

The agent driving the van slid open the window. "Everything okay back there?" he yelled.

"Yes, everything is fine," Florence replied sweetly.

The driver slid the window shut again.

Walter turned to Paige, lowering his voice. "We couldn't determine a safe way to get into the safehouse, so we decided that we would use the utter predictability of Homeland to our advantage."

"You knew that they would trade Collins for the others?"

"Call it a 99.9 percent likelihood," said Collins. "Never anticipate integrity from the U.S. government."

"That statement is overbroad," said Walter. "But yes, we knew they would make the trade. And that's our way in."

"That's his way in." Paige pointed at Collins. "What about you?"

"We're going to feign curiosity about their systems. If this woman, Anna, is as smart as you say she is, she'll have something that she'll want to brag to me about."

"Is that something the old you would have wanted to do? Brag to yourself?"

"Have you forgotten? I used to do it all the time." How could she forget that?

"Self-validation through intellectual achievement, to make up for his other failings," said Collins.

"You're the same way," said Walter.

"I never said I'm not."

"Okay," said Paige, slowly processing what they were telling her. "And how are you going to explain the fact that your lady love just drugged a federal agent?"

"He'll wake up before we reach the safehouse, unable to remember anything after I asked for his sunglasses," said Florence.

"A curious thing happens when the brain falls asleep while feeling the emotion surprise," said Collins. "But I won't try to explain it to you."

Paige frowned at him, then looked back at Walter. "Okay, so we get into the safehouse that way, but—"

"We?" Collins chuckled a little. "There's no 'we' for you this time, sister. They're not going to believe that you want back in there for any reason after they just held you hostage. You're going to have to sit this one out."

Paige glared at him, then turned again to Walter.

"Paige, he's right. I'm sorry."

"Besides, what would you even do in there?" Collins asked. "Translate their Russian for him? You're not that kind of translator. Not that he needs a translator anymore."

"Shut up!" Paige snapped. "Walter…"

"No," Collins replied. "And you know what else? You think I can't see what you're trying to do, messing with his head?" He gestured towards Florence. "He's in a healthy relationship now. Don't screw that up for him."

This surprised everybody. Walter stared at him, at a loss to explain the fierce defense of his relationship. He thought about how Collins had kept looking at them on the plane, looking genuinely envious. And how Collins had said that it was great to see Walter in a healthy relationship. Perhaps he was truly being honest.

Paige fell silent, looking away from all of them. She didn't say another word for the rest of the trip.

* * *

The agent awoke just before they arrived. That had been closer than anticipated.

"Welcome back, sleeping beauty," said Collins.

The agent looked around in confusion. "What happened?"

"You fell asleep," said Walter.

The agent brought a hand up to rub his eyes, knocking his sunglasses askew. "I must not have realized how tired I was." Taking the sunglasses off, he frowned at them for a moment.

"By my calculation, we should almost be at the safehouse by now."

"Agent Johnson doesn't know, does she?"

"Know what?"

"That I…" He frowned again, looking up at Florence, who was doing her best to look innocent.

The van stopped, and seconds later the door opened. "Step out, Mr. Collins," said Agent Johnson. Cabe was standing beside her.

Collins got out of the van, and his escorting agent quickly replaced his sunglasses before following. Paige got out next, and Walter made to follow her, but Florence grabbed his arm.

He looked at her, and she quickly kissed him.

"What was that for?"

She gave a small shrug. "We've been surrounded by people all day, and haven't had the chance."

Cabe cleared his throat, and Walter quickly turned and climbed out of the van, then turned back to help Florence.

The safehouse was more like a safe-mansion. It was large and magnificent, but Walter's attention immediately fell to his friends. Sylvester, Happy, and Toby stood in a row, with armed guards on either side of them. Three other armed men were walking down the sloping driveway in front of them towards where Agent Johnson stood with Collins.

Walter didn't see any woman among the Russians.

"Welcome back, Mr. Collins," said the Russian in the middle, a large, bald man with a tattoo on the back of his hand. "It has been too long."

"I disagree."

The Russian smirked, then turned to Agent Johnson. "In accordance with our agreement, your people will be released." Looking back up the driveway, he signaled to the guards.

"Go," said the guard standing next to Sylvester. Sylvester wasted no time in complying, and Happy and Toby quickly followed. Agent Johnson stepped back as the lead Russian placed his tattooed hand on Collins's shoulder, pulling him forward.

Walter walked forward to talk to the Russian, but Sylvester pulled him into a hug as he reached him. "It is great to see you, Walt. Although I have no idea what you're doing here."

"Great to see you, too."

Sylvester pulled away to hug Cabe, and Walter now found Toby and Happy standing in front of him. "O'Brien, long time no see."

Walter was thrown off by Toby's gruff tone. "Yeah… but… we've talked since then. Various times."

Toby dropped the façade and smiled, throwing open his arms. "Come here, 197."

Walter hugged him, looking over his shoulder to see the Russians returning up the driveway with Collins.

Happy pulled him into a hug next. "Maria will be happy to see her uncle."

"Me… um… her what?"

"She calls you Wala."

Walter found himself utterly unable to process this as he watched the Russians go. "Um, excuse me." He barely noticed Happy's face fall as he ran up the slope towards them. "Um, excuse me."

The Russians turned.

"Um… I, um…" Walter struggled to determine what he should say. He had been anticipating talking to a fellow genius. "I was told that there was a woman here whom I should meet. Her name is Anna."

The bald Russian walked right up to him, looking down at his face. "What do you want with Anna?"

Now words failed Walter completely as he took a step back from the man.

"Um, I told him about Anna." Walter turned to see Paige and Florence coming up behind him. "I was very impressed by her intelligence, and… since Walter is also very intelligent, I thought…"

"Miss Dineen? I did not expect to see you back here." The Russian walked over to her. "What, you want to set up a date between this man and Anna? Genius and genius? I think that is all they have in common."

"Yes, you're probably right about that. I wasn't thinking of a date so much as…" She gave a small shrug. "A conversation."

"Hm." The Russian looked her up and down. "Maybe we will make it a double-date."

Walter felt his insides smolder at the comment.

The Russian turned back to Walter. "Well, I suppose you can meet Anna. I am sure she will enjoy showing you her experiments. And maybe you can understand what she says about them." He gave an exasperated look as he said this last part, reminiscent of those that Paige gave when one of the others said something she couldn't understand, although far less attractive.

"Thank you," Walter replied.

The Russian turned to Paige and Florence. "Will you be joining us?"

"Yes," Florence replied immediately, stepping up beside Walter.

Paige hesitated. "I… um…"

"Miss Dineen, I understand if this house holds bad memories for you now. I will take no offense if you say no."

Paige looked at Walter and Florence. "I'll come. But as a guest this time, not as a hostage."

"Of course."

"Hey, what's going on?" They all turned to see Toby standing with his arms out. "Why are we still talking to these people? Let's go home!"

"Toby, you guys go ahead," said Paige.

"What do you mean?"

"Walter's just going to meet with Anna real quick."

"What?" Toby dropped his arms in confusion. Then he walked up towards them. Happy, Sylvester, and Cabe all followed.

"We are not inviting the whole party," muttered the Russian as they approached.

"You guys, go back to headquarters," Paige insisted. "We'll be there later."

"Are you kidding me?"

"No."

The others exchanged glances. Cabe took a few more steps forward. "Walter?"

Walter looked at the Russian. "Can he come in?"

"One of your agents? Niet." The response was unsurprising.

"Cabe, go with them. We'll be fine."

Cabe made a face, but stopped and turned to the others.

Walter turned to the Russian. "So, shall we?" They walked up to the house behind the guards escorting Collins.

"This really is a nice house," said Florence, looking up at it.

"Thank you," the Russian replied. "My name is Isaac." He held out his hand towards her.

She shook it. "Florence."

"Pleased to meet you, Florence. That is a very enjoyable name to say. It is like flower."

"Um… thanks."

They entered the house and found themselves in a long hallway with a bench against the wall. "You, sit down," Isaac said to Collins, pointing at the bench. One of the guards shoved him down onto the bench. Then Isaac turned to the others. "Wait here. I will get Anna." He walked out of the hallway, followed by the guards.

Collins looked up at Walter. "Now?" He held up his handcuffed wrists.

"Wait. Let's meet this Anna first."

"Come on, Walter. You know how uncomfortable these things are."

Walter ignored him, looking in the direction that Isaac had disappeared.

Then there was a hissing noise, and an odor emerged in the room.

"Oh," said Collins, dropping his hands. "I should have expected this."

Florence recognized the odor immediately. "Sleeping gas?"

Collins nodded. "This is the second time they've used it on me. Walter, can you take my glasses off and put them somewhere safe?"

Walter walked to the end of the hallway, finding a locked door. Turning, he returned to the front door of the house, which was bolted. He tried the lock on the door, but found that it didn't do anything.

"You really think there's going to be a way out of here?" Collins asked.

Walter looked up at the nozzles that the gas was coming from. They were way too high to reach. He turned to Paige. "Is this how they trapped you before?"

"No, this is different. But we should have expected something like this."

"What do they want us for? They have Collins."

"They're mobsters," said Collins. "You can be ransomed."

"There's no way Homeland is going to make a second deal."

Collins chuckled. "You have way too much faith in that organization. My glasses? Please?"

Walter sighed and took off his glasses, storing them securely in the side pocket of his bag. He wobbled a little as the gas filled the room.

Paige sat down on the bench beside Collins, while Florence wrapped her arms around Walter as she became unsteady. Walter thought about ways in which they might delay the gas affecting them, but there would be no point. There was no way out.

* * *

Walter pushed away the fog behind his eyes, looking around. He was in a dimly-lit room, and his left wrist was handcuffed. Looking down at it, he found that he was handcuffed to someone else, and his eyes slowly followed the other person's arm. It belonged to… Drew?

"What the hell?"


	8. Handcuffed

**A/N: Hey all. So a bus passed by the other day with a large ad for Katharine McPhee in _Waitress_ , and all I could see was Paige Dineen at the counter at Nemos's. Has anyone gone to see the show? Is it too much of a reminder of what we lost?**

 **Anyway, here's chapter 8. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: CBS owns _Scorpion_.**

 **Chapter 8: Handcuffed**

"Walter?" Walter looked over to see Florence sitting against the opposite wall, maybe nine feet away. She was handcuffed to Paige, who was still unconscious.

Where had the second pair of handcuffs come from? "Hi."

"Who is that?" She nodded towards Drew, who was also unconscious.

"This is Drew, Ralph's father."

As if recognizing her son's name, Paige made a noise, and slowly came to. Like Walter had, she first noticed the handcuffs, and looked over at Florence in confusion. "What?"

"Hi."

Florence glanced over towards the men, and Paige followed her gaze. "Walter? Drew!"

He snapped awake as she abruptly yelled his name. "What?" Then he looked around in confusion.

"Where's Ralph?"

He looked down at the handcuffs, then over at Walter. "What the hell is going on?"

"Drew, where is Ralph?" Paige repeated.

Drew looked over at her. "Hang on." He shook his head, putting his free hand to it. "What the hell did I drink?"

"Drew…" Paige shifted into her intimidating tone.

"Hold on, Paige. I need to…" He held up a finger.

Toby had told Walter that Drew had accepted a job coaching baseball in Maryland, in order to be closer to Ralph. He didn't know, however, how regularly Ralph was seeing his father.

"I took him out to dinner," said Drew. "There was… There was a woman. She flirted with me. And then… Ralph said something smart to her… and then…"

"And then what?"

Drew shook his head. "I got nothing." He looked around. "Where the hell are we?"

"Can you guys keep it down over there?" That was Collins's voice. Walter squinted in the dim light, spotting him. He was handcuffed to… Cabe?

There was the sound of a door opening and closing, and suddenly the light was bright. "Good morning, everyone." Isaac was standing beside a light switch about four feet to Paige's right. "Yes, I know, Monday mornings are hard."

"Monday?" Florence frowned. "What happened to Sunday?"

There was a feminine laugh, and a woman stepped around Isaac and towards them. She was conventionally attractive: tall, blonde, and skinny. "You flatter me. I love hearing that my experiments work so well."

"It's you," said Drew.

The woman looked down at him. "Hello again, handsome."

"Where's Ralph?"

"He's upstairs, remoting into his Georgetown lecture. Don't worry, his accommodations are far more comfortable than yours are. I'm not in the business of harming children."

"You must be Anna," said Walter.

"Walter O'Brien." She walked over and stood directly in front of him. "I anticipated that I would be meeting you not long after I met your former teammates." She gestured further into the room, and Walter saw that not just Cabe, but also Happy, Sylvester, Toby, and Agent Johnson were there, similarly handcuffed and all unconscious.

"What are they doing here?"

"They came to rescue you, predictably. A lot happened yesterday while you were under the effect of my little drug."

"Your drug?" He frowned, doing his best to remember anything from the previous day, but nothing surfaced.

"I will show you my research. But first…" Turning away from him, she walked over to Collins. "Mark Collins."

"Satan's daughter," he replied, looking up at her. Walter realized that he was once again wearing his glasses, meaning they had gone through his bag.

"You have all of your companions with you now. I am sure that, between all of them, you will be able to collect the money needed to repay what you stole from us."

Some social miscalculation.

"I have a better idea. How about you go back home to hell?"

She knelt down in front of him. "My home is a lot colder than hell, as you will recall. I look forward to reminding you of its hospitality."

Collins looked over at Isaac. "Hey, babysitter, your ward is misbehaving."

Anna stood again, walking away from him. "Mr. O'Brien, I apologize. I would have liked to begin our relationship under better circumstances. But your friend's deception has crippled my operation."

"He's not my friend," said Walter.

"Nonetheless, your survival depends on the satisfaction of his debt. So, I will leave you to talk it over." She walked back over to Isaac. "Leave the light on for them."

He nodded, and they left the room.

Florence looked over at Collins. "So, she makes drugs?"

"Among other things. She's kind of like you, but insane."

Florence glanced over at Walter. "Maybe she should show me her research."

Walter looked over at Collins, recognizing the phrasing of his description… from a long time ago.

"How much do you owe them?" Drew asked.

Collins looked at him. "I'm sorry, you're Ralph's father?"

"Yes, and I would like to take my son home. So, how much do you owe them?"

"And you're handcuffed to Walter? That's actually more awkward than them." He nodded towards Paige and Florence.

He had a point about that. Walter wondered if it was pure coincidence, or if Anna had done her research.

"Cut the crap. How much do you owe them?"

"We're not paying them a single dime. She tricked me, just like, from the sounds of it, she tricked you. And tricking me is no easy task. She's a psychopath."

"Pot, meet kettle." Toby's words came out as part of a groan, and everyone looked over as he lifted his head. "I knew this was a bad idea." He looked over at where his wrist was bound to Agent Johnson's, then over at Happy and Sylvester. "They couldn't have handcuffed me to my wife? Really?"

"You shouldn't have come back for us," said Walter.

"Really, O'Brien? You're still family. And Paige was here." He looked at his wife again. "Happy? Happy?"

She groaned. "Too early, Doc."

"No, no it isn't. Wake up." Happy opened her eyes, and immediately looked at her wrist, then at Sylvester.

She jerked her hand, and Sylvester snapped awake. "What?" He looked around in confusion. "Oh, not again."

"Yeah, except its worse this time," said Happy, drawing his attention to the handcuffs.

"Kournikova got the jump on us again," said Toby.

"Oh, don't call her that again. She'll just get angrier," said Sylvester, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes.

"Is that her last name?" Walter asked.

Drew made a noise. "Are you serious?" Walter looked at him, confused. "Anna Kournikova is a famous tennis player."

"More known for being very physically attractive," said Toby. "Call our host that and she goes off like a firework. Someone had serious inferiority issues as a teenager."

"That's surprising, considering she's very… um…" Walter trailed off as both Paige and Florence looked at him. "Conventionally attractive."

"Careful, Walt." That was Cabe's voice. He opened his eyes, looked down at his wrist, then at Collins. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

"Believe me, those are my thoughts exactly," Collins retorted. "Except, less intelligent."

Agent Johnson woke up a moment later, and looked at Toby. "Oh, seriously?"

"Good morning, Agent Johnson."

She pursed her lips and looked around the room. "Where in the house are we?"

"One floor below the ground level," Sylvester replied. "The house has three stories above ground, and two basement levels. By my estimation, we're about forty percent of the way along from west to east, and towards the back."

"How the hell can you tell that?" Drew asked.

"From the paces we walked when they escorted us out of here on Saturday."

"'So, basically, we're hard for anybody to reach," said Agent Johnson.

"That's correct. There's over a dozen guards and several vantage points from which they could safely take out anyone trying to get in from any angle, as we saw yesterday, and traps scattered across the yard on every side. The odds of anyone rescuing us are approximately—"

"Very low, I get it."

"Mark, what else can you tell us about our host?" Toby asked.

"I know that she uses dental floss."

"Really? You've been saving that one for a long time, haven't you? Nice try. Keep in mind, our survivals are linked here."

"Like that's ever stopped him before," Cabe muttered.

"Well, our girl's got the full package," said Collins. "Daddy issues, physical appearance issues, both superiority and inferiority issues when it comes to relating to other geniuses. If you're looking for more ways to set her off, there's really no limit. Not that it'll help you much."

"Daddy issues? What kind?"

"Her father is some KGB hotshot, but he left her completely on her own and broke when he married his second wife. She was fifteen."

Walter watched as Florence's eyes widened, and her jaw clenched. She met his eyes, and he silently urged her to relax.

"Okay, we can work with that," said Toby. "What about her experiments? What exactly is she working on?"

The door opened, and Anna reentered, followed by two guards. "I will show you in due time, Mr. Quinn-Curtis."

"Hey, it's Kournikova again."

Sylvester audibly groaned.

Anna walked over and knelt in front of Toby. "Call me that one more time, and I will set that stupid hat on fire."

"Call her it one more time," said Happy.

"Can we see Ralph?" Paige asked.

"I am here to take you to him, for breakfast." Anna stood. "Everyone, stand." She walked back over to her guards.

Walter glanced at Drew, and they struggled to stand in unison with their wrists still joined.

"Do we have to keep these on for breakfast?" Paige asked.

"Yes."

"You have the guns. What are we going to do?"

Anna gave a small shrug. "Maybe I am just amusing myself watching you with them. Come." She and one of her guards stepped out of the room, and the other waited until everyone was out and brought up the rear.

They walked down a dreary hallway to a staircase, and climbed. The ground floor of the house was decidedly more homely, and soon they entered a large, elegant dining room.

"Mom!" Ralph got up from the chair he was occupying and ran over to her, hugging her. Florence grunted as Paige hugged her son back, pulling Florence's arm with her.

Then Ralph went over to Drew. "Dad… Walter." His eyes flitted back and forth between them, then down to the handcuffs.

"Hey." Drew leaned forward until he was close to eye level with Ralph, forcing Walter to hunch down a bit. "How was class?"

"It was weird watching it from a prison."

"A prison?" Isaac entered the room. "You have the nicest room in the house, young one. Don't be ungrateful, or it can change."

"I'm not being ungrateful. I'm merely saying, factually, that it's a prison."

Isaac glanced at Anna. "It's like raising you all over again."

"So, you have access to a computer?" Walter asked.

"They've disabled all means of outgoing communication. They even took away the keyboard after I logged in. I can only watch and listen to what's happening in my classes. And Netflix.

"Netflix?" Paige raised her eyebrows.

"Once all my homework is done."

"That's not intellectually stimulating enough for you," said Walter.

"Well, it's literally all that I can do on the internet." Ralph gestured to Anna. "And she's got plenty of books on biology and chemistry, but not much on the other sciences."

"What's wrong with biology and chemistry?" Florence asked.

"Nothing, but when I specialize, it's not going to be in one of those fields."

"No, you're much more of a computer genius," said Walter.

"And engineering," said Happy.

"He's a math genius, too," said Sylvester.

Over Ralph's head, Walter saw Anna watching them as she stalked over to the table. She was scowling.

* * *

Eating while handcuffed was difficult, but it was the bathroom trips that proved to be the worst part. Walter refused to think about them any more than he had to.

By mid-afternoon, everyone was irritated with their forced partners. Even Happy and Sylvester were starting to snap at each other, and that was compounded by the fact that Happy's sinuses had become congested, causing Sylvester to worry about what she might be coming down with. He leaned as far away from her as he could, tugging uncomfortably on her arm.

Anna entered their prison room again, and pointed at Walter and Drew, then at Paige and Florence. "You two and you two, come with me."

They stood and followed her out, in the opposite direction this time. At the other end of the hallway was a stairwell going down, and she led them down into a vast laboratory.

"Wow," said Florence, looking around. She ran over to the nearest table, pulling Paige with her.

"I thought you might like this."

Florence walked from table to table, peering at the various formulas Anna had scribbled down. Paige hurried to keep up with her.

Then she stared at one formula for a long time. "This… this is a cancer treatment. A… very methodical one."

"Hopefully, someday, a cure," said Anna.

All four of them turned to stare at her. "What kind of a bad guy are you?" Florence asked.

"I just need the money that Collins stole."

"Money raised through synthetic drugs?" Florence gestured to some of the other tables she had visited.

"You people have such an obsession with the evil of drugs. The drugs will always be there, whether I make them or someone else does."

"You try raising a child in a country infested by drugs," said Paige.

"But your son will not take them, because he is well-educated. If everyone were so educated, drugs would not be a problem anymore."

Walter decided that there was some deception here. She had brought them down here on purpose, providing a formula that seemed to illustrate her desire to cure cancer. Collins had said that she tricked him, and now she was trying to do the same to them. Just like Collins himself would do.

"In a world of seven billion people, not everyone is going to get the education they need to get away from this stuff," said Paige.

"You are right about that."

Florence started walking back to the others, and Paige kept pace with her. "Why are you showing me this?"

"Like I said, I thought you would enjoy it."

"I do. I appreciate it."

"Good." Anna turned back towards the stairs and climbed.

Walter made to follow her, but Drew gently tugged on the handcuffs. He looked back at him, and Drew turned to Florence. "Which ones are the drugs?" he asked quietly.

Before Florence could answer, Paige cut in. "Don't try anything while they have Ralph."

He nodded. "You're right." Looking back at Walter, he gestured, and they climbed the stairs.

Anna waited for them at the top. When they reached her, she turned and started walking again. "Anna, wait," said Florence.

Anna stopped and turned back, and both Walter and Paige also looked at Florence in surprise.

"Look…" She hesitated. "I'm sorry about your father."

Anna's face turned even colder. "What do you know?"

"I… um…" Florence brushed stray bangs from her eyes, and glanced at Walter. Walter looked back, wondering if she was about to… "Only Walter knows this, but… I graduated high school when I was seventeen. When I did, my parents cut me off financially. Instead of paying for me to go to college, they put me out on my own, with no financial resources at all, forcing me to start from scratch. I had to work my way all the way up from the bottom."

Anna scrutinized her for a moment. "And yet, you had an advantage, because you were here in America. In Russia, things are very different. I was sixteen and working in a brothel when Isaac found me. I would scratch equations into the walls, and he was the only one who recognized what they were, and understood me. He took me in, saved me, and paid for me to go to Lomonosov."

Florence shut her mouth, her eyes wide. "I'm sorry."

"You are a white girl from America. Do not pretend that you know what hardship is." Anna turned and walked away again.

"You know, compared to all of your lives, I had it so easy," said Drew. "I did all of my screwing up on my own."

"Like never being there for your son." Paige walked away, and Florence fell into step with her.

"Paige…" Drew watched her go. "Yeah, like that." He lowered his eyes.

Walter waited, wondering if there was anything he should say. He wanted to follow the women and make sure Florence was okay, but he literally couldn't walk away from Drew.

"Walter, I never thanked you." Drew slowly raised his eyes and met Walter's surprised gaze. "If it weren't for you, Ralph would never have… Things would have been very different for him. I could never have provided the guidance for him that you did."

"I… um… It was…" Walter struggled. "I really care for him."

"I know." Drew brought his free hand to Walter's shoulder. "And he really cares for you, too. Now come on, let's see how your girlfriend is doing."

The women had stopped further down the hallway, and were talking quietly. Beyond them, a guard was watching. Walter noticed the way that the guard looked back and forth between Paige and Florence, and tried to quicken his pace.

As they reached the women, Florence turned towards him. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

She nodded, then leaned against him, wrapping her free hand around him. He returned the gesture, finding it awkward to hug her with Paige and Drew in such close proximity. Paige was clearly finding it awkward as well. Drew softly cleared his throat, and Florence pulled away, sheepishly looking at him and Paige.

They reentered the prison room, leaving the door open. "I think we're free to move around now," said Paige.

"But we still have to stay with our, um, buddies?" Sylvester asked. He was still leaning as far away from Happy as he could.

"Until they show us the keys."

"Well, I could use a stretch of the legs," said Toby. "Happy, want to go for a walk?"

"I think Agent Johnson has to be your date right now."

He chanced a glance at Agent Johnson, who returned an intimidating look. "Um, well, four's company, I suppose. What do you say, Sly?"

"Sure, why not? The air in here is stale and full of germs by now, anyway."

Toby glanced at Agent Johnson again, and she pursed her lips as she stood with him. Then he looked at Paige. "Do you think they'll let us go outside?"

"I'd say that's highly unlikely. It might look a little suspicious to have a bunch of people walking around in handcuffs outside of a mansion."

"Yeah, good point." Toby made a face. "Well, I suppose we'll push our boundaries a little, and see how much slack there is."

"Um, that part I'm not okay with," said Sylvester.

"Oh, come on, Sly. We're never going to get out of here without risk."

"That's the only smart thing you've said all afternoon, genius," Agent Johnson muttered.

Walter looked at Collins and Cabe, who were the only two still sitting down. Collins was meditating, while Cabe looked around impatiently. "What about you two?"

Cabe shrugged the shoulder of his free arm. "Let him have his zen moment. It's the only time when he's not being a jerk."

A laugh burst from Collins. "I appreciate that." Cabe rolled his eyes.

"Do you think we can go and see Ralph?" Drew asked.

"He'll be in class right now," said Paige.

"You mean watching a class… or Netflix."

"No, class. He is a good student."

"What class?" Walter asked.

"Um…" Paige thought for a moment. "It's a physics class right now, I think."

"So, it's highly probable that he already knows the material anyway. A perfectly viable time for a visit."

"No, we are not interrupting him." She looked at him with pleading eyes. "I want to visit him too, believe me, but…"

"Okay." Walter could tell that there was more that she wanted to say, but not in front of everyone. Sometimes, she wanted to be read.

"If you insist," said Drew.

"You know, it's really nice to see both of Ralph's parents caring about him so much," said Florence. "In our world of broken families, it's… it's really nice to see.

Walter took her free hand in his, squeezing it to comfort her.

They waited until Paige announced that the class would be over, and then went upstairs. The guards watched them, but didn't try to stop them. Climbing up to the third floor of the house, they found Ralph in a small but cozy bedroom.

"Hi, Mom. Dad. Walter. Florence."

"How was class," Drew asked, just as he had this morning.

"It's still weird remoting in from here."

"Well, I think we're going to get out of here soon."

"Dad, you don't need to lie to me."

"I know, sport." Drew reached out and ruffled Ralph's hair.

"And you don't need to do that, either."

Walter realized that these were Drew's attempts to be fatherly, and they were going over about as well as could be expected with his genius son. "So, how many mistakes did your professor make during his lecture?"

Ralph looked at him and smiled at the question. "Just two this time. It was pretty good for him, actually, unless there were times when I misheard him through the computer."

"Really. Do the speakers need fixing?" Walter looked over to the desk.

"No, I already improved them."

"Well done." Walter's eyes fell to the empty space where the keyboard should have been, the one tangible reminder in the room that this was really just a very comfortable prison cell.

"Are you hungry at all?" Paige asked.

"No. They certainly aren't stingy with the food here."

"Okay. Um, do you…" She looked around the room.

"Mom, I'm fine. Well, given the circumstances. They won't let me go outside, but that seems to be the only normal restraint."

"Can you at least open the window?"

"It doesn't open."

"Here, let me try," said Drew, stepping further into the room. Walter was forced to follow, then raise his arm as Drew attempted to lift the window open. It wouldn't budge. "Come on, Walter, help me out here."

"That would be futile," said Ralph.

"What he said," said Walter.

Drew surrendered. "Alright." Sighing, he stepped around Walter to turn around, then sat on the bed. "Well, the bed is comfy, at least." He lay back on it. "I think this is more comfortable than the bed I got you for my apartment."

"No, it isn't."

"Really? I must have done a better job than I thought."

"Yeah, you did well, Dad. But the reason you find that bed more comfortable is because you've been in uncomfortable circumstances all day, so your brain is finding extra physical comfort wherever it can."

"Um… okay." Drew glanced at Paige, who gave a small shrug.

Ralph glanced at the handcuffs. "It must be hard having those on all day."

"Very much so," said Paige.

"You should ask her if you can switch who is paired with who. The current pairings only amount to emotional torture."

"Um…" Paige glanced at Florence. "We should ask. No offense."

"None taken," Florence replied, looking hopefully at Walter.

"And Happy and Toby are already handcuffed together under the law. They might as well be physically handcuffed together."

Paige frowned at her son. "Is that what you think of marriage?"

"Well, no, I think marriage is nice. But I haven't had exposure to many marriages."

Paige glanced at Drew, which made Walter feel uncomfortable.

"Do you think she actually would switch the handcuffs if we asked?" said Drew.

"I don't see why not," said Florence. "She hasn't shown any intention to torture us all day, nor any interest in our emotional attachments. And she seems very straightforward, not manipulative. These pairings may just be strange coincidences."

Walter glanced at her. He was still feeling that there was some deception here, but he knew that Florence had been recognizing similarities between herself and Anna all day. "We can't take her honesty for granted. She is holding us prisoner."

"Only because of what Collins did to her."

Walter glanced at Paige. Florence hadn't learned to understand people the way that he had. She hadn't had four years of Paige's mentorship. It wasn't just Florence's similarity to Anna that made her the perfect target for manipulation.

"Let's just ask her," said Florence. "I have a feeling she'll agree to switch."

At the very least, it would be a good test.

They stayed with Ralph until Isaac appeared. "It is dinner time," he announced. "All of you will come."

They followed him downstairs, to where Anna and the other prisoners were already all sitting at the large table. As they took the remaining spaces at the far side of the table, they ordered themselves so that Ralph could sit between his parents.

It wasn't far into the meal before Florence raised the question. "Um… Anna… we… we were wondering if we would be able to switch who we were handcuffed to."

"Already tried that," said Toby. "No dice. The woman's got no respect for marriage." He glanced over at Happy, who was sitting on the far side of Agent Johnson. He and Happy were both on the left side of their respective pairings, so there was no way they could have comfortably sat together.

"I mean, it doesn't… Well, it would just make things easier," Florence persisted.

Anna smiled sweetly. "Florence, I like you, and I am sorry. But what I need is my money, and I am not going to get that any sooner by making you more comfortable here."

"So, you… Did you intentionally put me with Paige?"

Collins began chuckling. "Of course she did. Did you really think these pairings were a coincidence? She did her research. She always does. Don't underestimate her, darling."

Walter smiled. Now he understood. "That's a lie." Everyone turned to look at him. He glanced at Drew. "Do you mind if we stand for this? I just… It'll feel more dramatic that way."

"Um… sure," Drew replied. They stood.

Walter turned to Anna. "Anna, you did a great job. You really did. You were very convincing, and that was because you were honest about almost everything. But here's where you went wrong." He made to walk around the table towards her, but that wasn't an option with Drew. "See, you're a lot like us. High IQ, low EQ, wounded past… even moreso than the rest of us in that regard. You're emotionally unattached and you calculate everything. Even Isaac, who saved you from that brothel and did his best to raise you, keeps his distance most of the time." He briefly glanced over at Isaac, who was sitting at the far end of the table from her.

"The difference is Paige. We spent four years with her, learning from her. She taught us how to understand the one thing that we couldn't understand: emotion. And her mentorship was extremely effective. If it weren't for her, I would never have been able to understand what was really going on here." He briefly looked away from Anna again in order to see Paige turn a little pink.

"You never had that mentorship. You stayed the way that I used to be, unable to fully appreciate the emotions of others. That means that you would have never done the research on us required for this little handcuff game of yours. And you certainly would never have gone so far as to kidnap Ralph and Drew just to add to that emotional torture. Someone instructed you on that, and on who to pair with who in the handcuffs.

"Which brings me to what it is that you lied about. Collins claimed that he wasn't even able to pay for his plane ticket to DC. I verified that as soon as he left my apartment. He doesn't have a single cent to his name, or any other name that he is using. He gave away the majority of his personal funds in order to frame Cabe for taking a bribe before his trial, and the rest of it was squandered among various criminal enterprises in Russia and South America, including yours. He never stole any of your money. In fact, you're in possession of all of his money.

"Or, I should say, you're holding it for him, in order to create the illusion that he is broke. Because the one who's really calling the shots here…" Walter turned to Collins. "…is you."


	9. Cupid Doesn't DiscriminateGeniuses Do

**A/N: Hey all. So I didn't realize that _Scorpion_ had such a following in France, and it's really cool that I'm getting so many readers from there.**

 **Also, I appreciate the comment that my science hasn't been too outrageous yet, but you may speaking too soon. This chapter really starts to push it with the _Scorpion_ style of taking liberties with the science for the sake of plot. I should mention that I'm not a member of one of the STEM professions, but that's not stopping me here and in the chapters to come.**

 **So, keep suspending your disbelief, and enjoy!**

 **Also, FF.N apparently has a character limit on chapter titles, so I apologize for the weird abridging in the email notifications and the pull-down menu.**

 **Disclaimer: CBS owns _Scorpion_.**

 **Chapter 9: Cupid Doesn't Discriminate, but Geniuses Do**

Collins smiled. "Of course, Walter. That's the way it has to be, isn't it? You could never accept me as an ally."

Walter faltered for a moment. He had to be right. This was all Collins's doing.

Collins turned to Cabe. "Do you mind if we stand as well? He enjoys looking down at me too much."

"If he's right, I can strangle you with these cuffs," Cabe growled as they stood.

Collins nodded towards the guards that were standing against the wall on either side of the table. "I doubt they would let that happen." He returned his gaze to Walter. "You know, you really have made great strides over these past five years. But you never could shake that narcissism, could you?"

"Again with the pots and kettles," said Toby. "Not that you've made any strides at all in the past five years."

"Is that your professional assessment, Toby?" Collins snapped. "And why should I need to make any strides at all. I'm the smartest man in the world. Case in point, you geniuses fall for every trick I play on you." Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew the key to his handcuffs and unlocked them.

"You son of a bitch," said Cabe, starting to raise his free hand.

"Um, guards, remember?" Collins pointed towards the nearer guard, who was raising his gun in time with Cabe's hand. Cabe glared at him, but lowered his hand. Collins took the hand and fully handcuffed Cabe. Then he walked towards Anna, smiling at her. "Well, I can finally do this again." Lowering his head, he kissed her.

"Ew," said Happy.

Anna pulled away, looking at him. Then she kissed him back.

"Oh, that's just wrong," said Toby. "The psychopath has found a psycho-lady."

"So much for the wolf spider," said Walter.

Collins broke the kiss and looked at him. "Look who's talking. You were always the most hyper-rational, and yet you've fallen in love twice now. It happens to everyone, Walter, no matter how irrational it might seem. Believe me, I resisted that notion for a long time myself."

"Cupid doesn't discriminate," muttered Toby.

Collins looked back at Anna. "As it turned out, I had only been wasting time." Reaching out, he stroked her cheek.

Walter did his best to fight the notion of how familiar Collins's statement felt to him, and with it, the urge to look at Paige. "Why are we here? What do you want with us?"

Collins left Anna's side and continued walking around the table, approaching him. "Patience, Walter. Take a moment to let things set in." He stopped behind Ralph's chair, placing his hands on it. "How was class today, Ralphy-boy?"

Ralph glared up at him.

"Don't you talk to him," said Paige.

Collins smiled, then walked up to Drew. "Mr. Baker, you said this morning that you would like to take your son home. Tell me, if I were to let you do that, could I trust you to not do anything that would put his lovely mother in any more danger than she already is?"

Drew mirrored his son's expression. "Such as?"

"Well, communicate with anyone, for starters."

"You have my word."

"And I know that I can take you at your word," said Collins. "Unfortunately, your son is much smarter than you are, and therefore less trustworthy. He knows ways to communicate without me being able to stop it. So, I can release you, but I can't release him. Therefore, it's your choice: go home, or stay here with him."

Drew looked at Ralph. "I'll stay," he replied almost immediately.

Ralph's face softened, and a small smile appeared on it. Now Walter couldn't resist looking at Paige, and he saw that her expression had also softened.

"Very well," said Collins. "Now, if you'll all excuse me for a few minutes. Continue enjoying your dinner in the meantime." Turning, he left the room.

"At some point, we're going to smarten up to his games," Cabe muttered, sitting back down.

"Thank you," said Paige, looking at Drew.

"It's a decision I should have made a long time ago."

Walter tried to ignore the discomfort caused by the exchange and focus on the situation. He turned to Anna. "So why are we here, if it isn't about the money?"

Anna smiled. "Like he said, patience, Walter."

Florence leaned towards her. "You know, I can understand it. The allure of the superior mind, especially given how smart we already are. Even just holding the attention of such a mind flatters you, so much so that you intentionally blind yourself to his faults. But you're putting yourself in a very dangerous situation."

Walter frowned, wondering just how much of that was purely for Anna's benefit.

"Relax, Florence," said Anna. "I am in no danger from him, and neither are you."

"I'm not?"

"No. He has no intention of harming you."

"Then what are his intentions?"

"He will show you."

Toby looked at Isaac. "Are you really okay with the girl you raised being enamored with that nutjob?"

"She makes her own decisions."

"Is that so? Because Mark Collins can manipulate anyone."

"He has vision," said Anna. "If you had such vision, a man of your talents would be able to do the same."

"Oh, I've got vision. I've got a vision of going home and seeing my baby daughter again. How about you help make that vision come about instead?"

"Would you like me to bring her here for you? I promise she would be unharmed."

Toby looked at Happy, and Happy looked back. Walter could see the longing on both of their faces, but Happy shook her head. "No," said Toby. "She's safer with the sitter."

Drew glanced at Walter. "Do we still need to be standing?"

"No." There was nothing to be done until Collins returned, and they might as well eat. Who knew whether Collins would continue to be liberal with the meals going forward?

It was several minutes before Collins returned. "I apologize, everyone. The bathroom trips really were the worst part of this little experiment, weren't they?" He looked at Cabe, then at Anna. "Everything is ready, my dear."

Anna put down her fork and stood.

"Walter, Florence, if you would come with us please. If you're done eating, that is. Oh, and Cabe."

Walter stood immediately, eager to finally see what this was all about. As he did so, he inadvertently yanked on Drew's arm with the handcuffs.

"Ow." Drew quickly stood as well.

"Sorry." Walter looked at Collins and nodded towards Drew. "What about him?"

"Oh, right." Collins approached Drew. He stopped a few feet away, stroking his beard. "Well, I suppose you deserve this." He pulled out the handcuff key again. As he resumed his approach, Drew took a step forward, and Collins stopped again. "Just remember, guards with guns." He pointed at the guards. "And your son is right here."

Drew nodded, and Collins unlocked the cuff from around his wrist. Immediately, Drew went to Ralph, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"What about me?" Paige asked. She and Florence had also stood.

"You don't deserve this, but I do need her." Collins walked over and uncuffed Florence. "Walter, come here." Walter did so, knowing there was no sense in delaying this, and the cuff that had been around Drew's wrist was placed around Florence's.

Paige also turned towards Ralph, placing her cuffed hand on the back of his chair and kneeling down beside him. Walter quickly looked away from the family.

"Come," said Collins. He made for the exit again, and Walter, Florence, and Cabe followed.

"One moment," said Anna, who had also begun to follow. Moving over to Ralph's chair, she took the open handcuff still attached to Paige and locked it around Drew's wrist. "I think you will both enjoy that." Walter winced.

Collins stared at her as she returned to him. "I love you."

"I love you, too." They walked out of the room together, and Walter and Florence exchanged a glance as they followed, with Cabe right behind them.

Collins and Anna led them back down to the laboratory. There was one guard stationed at the bottom of the stairs, and another was standing beside an empty stool at a table halfway across the room. It was not one of the tables that Florence had examined earlier.

"You know, after our last adventure, I had something of an epiphany," said Collins. "See, there was something I had always known, but I didn't fully appreciate it until we saved the world from being covered in methane. We were only delaying what was eventually going to happen anyway."

"You mean global warming," said Walter. "Yeah, I thought about that, too. But it's a significantly more gradual process without all the excess methane in the atmosphere."

"Gradual, but still inevitable." He looked at Anna. "Until recently, I never worried about what would happen beyond my lifespan. I may be the smartest man in the world, but even I have to die sometime, and I think we can admit at this point that our BBI research was never going to get anywhere. So, I just didn't care what happened after I was gone."

Walter glanced back and forth between Collins and Anna. "You're thinking of producing offspring."

"Eventually," said Collins. "And, ideally, they would have a habitable world to grow up in."

"So, you want to stop global warming."

"Oh, I think we both know that ship has sailed. The damage is done now. But we can still slow the process significantly. And while we're at it, we can deal with the inevitable looming food shortages, water shortages, deforestation, you name it. All of the burden that comes from trying to sustain a population of seven billion on our tiny planet."

Now Walter understood where this was going. "And the most efficient way to do that is to reduce the population. Significantly."

Collins smiled. "And here I thought you were going soft."

"I would never support such a plan."

"Well, fortunately, I don't need your support. Just hers." He nodded towards Florence.

"Mine?" Florence asked. "Why?"

"See, natural disasters are too indiscriminate. With the methane release, everyone would have died. Earthquakes and volcanoes are the same. So are manmade weapons, like nukes. We're going to fix that."

"I don't understand."

"I do," said Walter. "You want only the people like us to survive. You've always hated normal people."

"Just imagine it, Walter: A world properly managed by people capable of understanding the consequences of their actions. Where we don't have to carry the burden of others' stupidity and constantly work to mitigate their errors. A world where everyone is like us."

Florence looked at Anna. "What about Isaac?"

"Exceptions will be made," she explained. "We only need to eliminate the strain on global resources and the atmosphere."

"I can even spare Paige and Drew," said Collins. "For Ralph's sake, of course."

"You'll spare them?" Cabe muttered. "You're not God, Collins."

"There's no weapon that could possibly be that selective," said Florence.

Collins nodded towards the guard at the bottom of the stairs, and he disappeared up them. Then he turned to Anna. "Your turn, my love."

Anna turned towards the table that Collins had led them over to. "See, our brains work differently from normal people. There is actually a significant amount of difference in the chemical activity in our brains compared to theirs."

"We know that," said Walter.

"That same chemical activity makes us more resistant to the invasion of a certain kind of synthetic drug designed to stimulate that activity."

"You want to weaponize nootropics," said Florence.

"You really are a genius," said Collins. He clapped Walter on the shoulder. "Excellent choice."

"I'm not helping you do that," said Florence.

"That part I can do on my own," said Anna. "What I need your help with is an agent for mass delivery."

"You mean a gas?" Walter asked.

"First of all, that isn't possible," said Florence. "Second, even if it were, I'm not helping you."

Collins looked at Cabe. "I'm surprised you haven't asked yet why we brought you down here."

"And here I thought you'd forgotten you invited me to this little brain-fest."

"Allow me to introduce you to your next companion in the handcuffs." Collins gestured towards the stairs, and they watched as the guard returned with a woman in a beige business suit. She was past her peak years, to be sure, but she had aged gracefully, and the short, blonde hair atop her head made her look younger, reminiscent of…

"Mom?" asked Florence, staring at the woman.

"Florence. So, this is your fault."

Walter looked back and forth between his girlfriend and her mother. The family resemblance was obvious.

Florence stared at her for another moment, then rounded on Collins. "So, if I don't help you kill billions of people, you hurt her?"

"Every relationship has give and take."

"Except that if your plan succeeds, she dies anyway."

"Not necessarily. We can choose who we spare, remember? No one in your family has to die."

"Well, I don't know who you are, but that won't motivate her," said Florence's mother. "She has never cared about anyone in her family."

Walter knew that wasn't true. She was still in touch with her brother in Palo Alto.

He watched as various emotions converged on her face, culminating with a glare at Collins.

Smiling, Collins uncuffed one of Cabe's wrists and attached the cuff to Florence's mother. Then he turned to Florence again. "You'll be joining us down here tomorrow morning. I'll give you the rest of this evening to catch up." He looked at the guards. "Take them back upstairs."

They were escorted back upstairs in silence. Walter wanted to introduce himself, but he felt that he shouldn't break the silence before Florence did. Clearly, Cabe felt the same way.

Finally, Florence did break the silence. "Where did they take you?"

"At home. They were waiting in the kitchen. They didn't set off the alarm or anything."

"Collins has tech that can do that," said Cabe. "He must have outfitted his goons with it."

Florence's mother looked down at the handcuffs. "Since it appears we're going to be stuck together for a while, I might as well know your name."

"Cabe Gallo. Your daughter is a brilliant young woman."

"You say that like it's a good thing."

Florence visibly flinched at the comment, and Walter frowned. "It is a good thing," he said.

"And who are you?"

"Walter O'Brien."

"Well, Walter O'Brien, since you seem so defensive of my daughter, I should let you know that she has never cared for anyone other than herself. She is arrogant, antisocial, and obsessed with her own intelligence, and has never shown interest in any other person, even her own family."

Florence stopped walking. "That isn't true."

"Isn't it? Your father and I watched you grow up for seventeen years. It grieved us to see you develop the way you did."

Walter spoke up. "Mrs. Tipton, I am also—"

"It's Miss Wallace. I haven't been a Mrs. for quite some time."

Right. Florence had mentioned the divorce, which she had learned about online. "Miss Wallace, I am also intellectually gifted, and I have been characterized many times over in exactly the same fashion that you just characterized Florence. We struggle to understand emotions and interact with other people, and because of that, we come across as dispassionate. But I assure you, we care."

"I should have known she would wind up with a man as troubled as she is. I'll say this, though, you certainly communicated that more clearly than she has ever communicated anything."

"Well, I, uh, learned." Walter glanced at Cabe, who was clearly surprised by the unapologetic harshness of the woman he was handcuffed to.

"So where are they keeping us?"

"In there," Cabe nodded towards the door to the prison room. The guard at the door opened it, and Cabe led Miss Wallace inside.

"Can you give us a moment?" Walter asked the guard. He nodded and shut the door, then walked a little ways further down the hall. Walter turned to Florence. "Are you okay?"

"That's a stupid question. Hug me, please."

He complied. "Just so you know, every characteristic that she just complained about, I'm glad you have."

"Because I'm like you?"

"Because you're a wonderful person. Normal people are never able to fully understand us, and the vast majority of them start thinking like your parents did. Sylvester and I both lost our relationships with our parents largely for the same reason. They never understood how to raise us, and we couldn't communicate to them what we needed, and that made us even more isolated within our own homes. But Florence, you are amazing for the very same reasons that she resents you."

She reached up and kissed him. "Thank you, Walter."

"You're welcome." He opened the door and held it for her.

Inside, Sylvester, Happy, Toby, and Agent Johnson were meeting Miss Wallace. Toby already had that expression that he got when he tried to be polite with someone and they had no interest in being polite back.

There were two people missing. "Where are Paige and Drew?" Walter asked.

"Still upstairs with Ralph," Sylvester replied. He was looking fidgety as he glanced back at Miss Wallace, clearly put off by her attitude.

"So, what are psycho and psycho-ette planning?" Toby asked.

Walter and Florence began explaining Collins's plan.

* * *

Walter woke up in the morning to find his wrists cuffed together. Florence was gone. She must have already been taken down to the lab.

Directly across from him, Paige and Drew were leaning against each other as they slept. The sight made Walter feel a little nauseous, but he forced himself to think of what Ralph would feel if he saw his parents like that. It was probably good for Ralph that his father was making more of an effort to be there for him, especially during this.

"Don't worry about it." Walter looked over at Toby, who was speaking quietly. "Nothing's going to happen between them."

"How do you know?"

"Because Paige is still who she is. They're going to make as much of an effort as they can to both be there for Ralph right now, but once this is over, things will go back to normal. They'll each have their separate time with him, just like it's been these past few months."

Walter nodded towards Drew. "He hasn't been… trying to…"

"No. At least for now, his effort is on trying to be a better father."

"For now?" Walter muttered under his breath.

Looking past Toby, he saw that Happy and Cabe were both also awake. Miss Wallace was snoring, a fact that Cabe was clearly displeased with.

"How long ago did they take Florence downstairs?"

"It was before any of us woke up."

Happy sneezed, causing Sylvester to jerk awake and look at her in horror.

"Bless you, love. You don't sound so good."

"It's just a cold, Doc. I'll be fine." She looked at Sylvester, who had begun moving as far from her as the cuffs would allow. "And so will you."

"Some coincidence that you start coming down with a cold as soon as you're cuffed to him," said Toby. "I wouldn't be surprised if Collins had his crazy little chemist give you a minor virus just to torture Sly a little more."

"You think so?" Sylvester asked.

To Walter, that seemed a little absurd, even for Collins.

"Of course, for it to already be manifesting, she would have had to give it to you the first time we were held here. He was planning this whole thing, including us coming back to rescue the others."

"He knows us," said Happy.

"Yeah, but we also know him."

Happy sneezed again, and Paige's eyes snapped open. She quickly looked at Drew, realizing her position, and pulled away from him. Looking up, she met Walter's eyes, and quickly looked back down.

"Good morning," said Toby, his voice now carrying some amusement. "Did you sleep well?"

She gave him one of her dealing-with-emotionally-immature-geniuses looks. "Hardly."

Like the previous day, they were brought to breakfast, where Ralph awaited them. Florence was not brought upstairs, and Walter wondered whether they were going to force her to work in the lab all day.

Eating with his wrists cuffed together proved to be more difficult than eating with one hand cuffed to Drew. He looked over at the family. Paige now sat in the middle, because she was now handcuffed to Drew. Walter watched as Drew helped her out with his free hand when she needed it, and she did the same for him. He quickly lost his appetite, but he knew that he needed to keep eating.

"So, how long have you been in the United States?" Miss Wallace asked Isaac. She was more polite with him than she was with any of her fellow prisoners.

"Eight years, roughly."

"Do you like it better than Russia?"

"Russia is always home to me. But, America certainly has… as you would say, perks."

"We certainly do, don't we?" Miss Wallace put down her fork and clasped her hands together. "It's such a shame what they're trying to do downstairs. They're going to ruin everything, just because they don't know how to talk to people."

Walter winced. That was not their motivation at all.

"They are going to make a better world. Anna will be much happier in it."

"You care a great deal for her."

"She is like a daughter to me."

"Well, that must be better than having a real daughter that's like that."

Walter looked up as Paige's fork clattered against her plate. She looked sharply at Miss Wallace. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you can't imagine what it's like to raise a child who is too smart for her own good, and completely shuts herself off from the world because of it."

"As a matter of fact…" Paige began, her free hand gesturing towards Ralph. Then she stopped, sighed, and shook her head. "What Florence needed was people who understood her. In order to feel empathy, she needed to be shown empathy. Especially from her parents."

"Excuse me?"

"Trust her," said Toby. "She's raised five geniuses, not just one."

Walter found Miss Wallace's aghast expression gratifying. She was everything that Paige was not.

Miss Wallace started to bring her hands to her face, then realized that she couldn't without dragging Cabe's arm along. Instead, her free hand moved under the guise of replacing a few displaced strands of her bangs that had fallen across her forehead. She promptly returned her attention to her breakfast.

"What time is your first class this morning?" Isaac asked Ralph.

"In about an hour. Can I go down to the laboratory?"

"It is okay with your parents?" Isaac looked at Paige and Drew.

"Yes," Paige replied.

"Then I will ask Anna."

* * *

Anna permitted Ralph to enter the laboratory, but insisted that Walter accompany him. Walter at first found it a curious request, but guessed that he would be more capable of noticing Ralph attempting any mischief in the lab than Paige or Drew would be. Not that Ralph would do anything. Everyone was treading carefully while their loved ones were in front of the guards.

Collins was watching Florence carefully as she worked with Anna. She looked tired, and Walter guessed that that was as much the stress of the situation as it was actual physical fatigue. Occasionally, she would glance towards Collins or Anna, as if searching for any opportunity to ruin their plans. But Walter knew that, regardless of the nature of her relationship with her mother, she would never do anything to put her in danger.

"Welcome, Ralph." Anna walked over, removing her gloves, and knelt down in front of him. "Did you enjoy breakfast?"

"Yes, thank you. How is the work coming along?"

"Well enough. It is a longer process than we would like, but the greatest progress is always that way."

"Yeah, it is."

Anna reached out and touched his cheek. "You are really going to like our new world. Everyone will be like you, and no will ever fail to understand you again. There will be no more bullies, and no more idiots destroying the world and forcing us to save it. And your parents will be there with you to see it."

"That does sound appealing," said Ralph. "But I think too many people would have to die for that to happen."

"Progress always has costs. And you know that our planet cannot sustain the current population growth. The very existence of humanity in our current numbers is destroying it."

"That wouldn't be the case if we made better decisions. At least, it would take much longer."

"That's true. Try explaining that to normal people. Many before you have tried."

Ralph looked around. "Can I see some of your other experiments in here?"

"One of my guards will have to walk with you and make sure that you do not touch anything."

"That's fine."

Anna beckoned to one of the two guards and spoke to him in Russian. The guard nodded and looked down at Ralph. Then Anna returned to her work.

Walter followed as Ralph walked from table to table, examining its contents. He also looked around himself for anything they might be able to use in an escape, but he assumed that Collins had been careful to keep anything useful out of sight.

"She's trying to cure a lot of incurable diseases," Ralph commented. "Cancer, Alzheimer's, Epilepsy…"

"Even in a world of just geniuses, such diseases will still be a problem," Walter replied.

Eventually, they reached the stairs again. Ralph looked over at Anna. "Thank you," he called.

"You're welcome. Enjoy your classes."

They climbed the stairs and walked back up the hall, until they could hear a full-blown argument occurring between Paige and Miss Wallace.

"So, you condone your son's antisocial behavior, his complete rejection of friends or any attempt to relate to people his own age?"

"He has friends. And he gets to do what he enjoys doing, regardless of whether or not I understand any of it."

"And how do you expect him to succeed in life if he isn't able to properly communicate with normal people?"

"He's learning. And Florence did fine, even without any of your help."

"If you call being voted out of her own company and falling into a mess like this succeeding. Now she's being forced to help destroy the world. None of this would have happened if she had ever made an effort to learn social behavior."

Ralph looked up at Walter, and Walter returned the look. They both braced themselves before entering the room.

Paige and Miss Wallace stood on opposite sides of the battlefield, glaring at each other. Drew and Cabe were both trying to stand as far from the line of fire as they could, which was difficult considering their respective handcuff situations. The others were standing against the far wall. Toby had an expression suggesting he was about ready to ask for some popcorn, while Sylvester was covering his eyes with his free hand.

"And both of our children have found a family of people like them, whom they can relate to," said Paige, gesturing to the geniuses around them. "Together, as a team, they do greater things than you could ever have imagined."

"A team of geniuses? That isn't a family, it's a trap."

Paige raised her eyebrows, a retort eluding her for the moment.

"What do you mean?" Walter asked. He was more curious than angry about her comment.

Miss Wallace turned to him. "You've surrounded yourself with geniuses in order to feel like you belong somewhere, without having to put effort into communicating with people. You can all be antisocial together as much as you like, and you get to close yourself off from the world even more. You've given yourself an excuse to never leave your little rabbit-hole."

Walter's eyes widened, and he wondered if the phrasing of that last sentence was purely coincidental. "We communicate with normal people all the time. It's part of the job."

"Part of the job? Really? What a great way to think about it. Imagine how thrilled I am that my daughter has wound up with a man who thinks of communication as part of a job."

Walter realized he had made a mistake, and looked at Paige.

"Being part of Scorpion is helpful for them," said Paige. "Every manageable situation of limited communication that they're placed in better prepares them for situations where more communication is required. They have all gotten considerably better at communicating since this started."

Walter's mind got stuck on her mention of Scorpion. It was such a casual mention, and in the present-tense, no less.

"They're learning lessons that most children learn when they are ten years old," said Miss Wallace. She turned to Ralph. "At least it's not too late for your son, I hope." She walked over to him, pulling Cabe with her. "Listen, child. You need to do your very best to block out everything that these people are trying to teach you. Communication. Is. Everything. That is the number one lesson that you can learn in life, the key to success. You need to have friends, and you need to be friendly with your coworkers and bosses. That is how you succeed." She turned back to Paige. "Your willingness to cater to his antisocial instincts is hurting him, not helping him."

Paige glared at her. "Thank you for telling me how to raise my son, since you did such a good job with your daughter."

"Florence was never willing to listen to what I told her. She convinced herself that the way she wanted to live her life was okay. I could never make her understand how wrong she was."

"Because she wasn't like you. Just like Ralph isn't like me. And that's fine."

"Do you really want your son to be trapped in this world forever? To be stuck in his bubble of geniuses, unable to venture beyond it and bond with people in the outside world?"

"I want my son to be happy. Whatever that entails."

Ralph turned to Walter. "I have to go upstairs for class. Will you come with me?"

"Happily," Walter replied, eager to be anywhere but in this room right now.

Ralph waved to his parents.

"Enjoy class, sweetie."

"Thanks." Ralph fled the room, with Walter on his heels. "Wow, that was…"

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly," Walter replied. They climbed up to the room that Ralph was staying in.

Ralph shut the door, then turned to Walter. "I have an idea about how to stop all this."

"The fighting down there?"

"No. Collins's plot."


	10. The Rescue

**A/N: Hey all. This chapter was exhausting to write. It's the darkest thing I've ever written, and I reconsidered for a while before putting everything down on paper, but I decided not to pull any punches. I'll let you all be the judges of how it came out.**

 **WARNING: This chapter contains blood, violence, and character death.**

 **I promise this is the only chapter that is like this.**

 **Disclaimer: CBS owns _Scorpion_.**

 **Chapter 10: The Rescue**

"I'm sorry, but it can't be done," said Florence. "The formula can't be sustained in a gaseous form for any prolonged period of time. It breaks down less than a second after vaporization and becomes harmless."

Collins glared at her, but he knew, as Walter did, that she wasn't lying. She had been working down here for four full days now, and had plenty of time to test every method she could. Turning away from her, Collins stroked his beard.

"So, we deliver it in liquid form," said Anna. "Perhaps through the water supply."

"That's going to take forever," Collins muttered. "People will have too much notice, and everyone who can afford to will just stop drinking tap water until the supply is restored. After Flint, this country is prepared for something like that." Sitting down on the stool, he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "There has to be a way."

Walter watched his anguish. He was so devoted to his cause, insane though it was.

Anna removed her gloves and walked over to him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Relax, my love. Like we keep saying, the greatest progress always takes time. We will figure it out. In the meantime, perhaps we could eliminate a few hundred people through the water supply, and reduce the burden on global resources ever-so-slightly."

Collins sighed. "I suppose we could." Shrugging off her hands, he stood again, then walked over to a different table and retrieved a spray-bottle. Turning, he carried the bottle over to Florence. "I want you to make a liter of the formula by the end of the day and put it in here."

Florence took the bottle, frowning at it. "Your firearm of choice? Or, water-arm, I guess."

Collins chuckled. "Precisely."

"Who are you going to use it on?"

Collins shrugged. "Whoever doesn't cooperate. Or, their loved ones."

The relief that Walter had been feeling at Florence's news began to fade. Collins had never been one to directly kill people by pulling a trigger. He was falling even further away from sanity.

Collins turned and walked over to Walter. Florence glared at his back, still holding the spray-bottle. "She's wonderful, isn't she?" said Collins, placing his hand on Walter's shoulder. "Never let her go."

"Is she going to be able to come upstairs for lunch?"

Collins glanced back at her, and shrugged. "Yes, fine."

"Thank you." Walter decided to leave the laboratory, and turned to the stairs.

Collins caught up to him and climbed beside him. "You know, I've been thinking about some of our earliest projects together. We set out to do some truly incredible things, and we really did make a great team. Maybe, once this is all over, we can start working together again."

"You mean once you've killed billions of people?"

"Once I've saved the planet, yes."

"We'll see." They were never going to reach that point. Walter wanted to check on Ralph's progress, but he couldn't let that on to Collins or the Russians.

They reached the ground floor, finding Toby and Happy in the living room. Collins had once again changed around the handcuff pairings, finally allowing Toby and Happy to be handcuffed together. His logic was that nothing would come between them in his new world. Cabe was now paired with Agent Johnson, and Sylvester was doing his very best to ignore Miss Wallace now that he couldn't escape from her rants.

Walter paused, watching as the married couple sat silently together on the couch, wrapped up in each other's arms. It was almost a satisfying sight, but he knew that they were probably thinking about Maria.

Collins also watched them for a moment, but then wandered off, without saying a word. Walter remained, and was soon joined by Cabe and Agent Johnson.

"It's nice seeing them together like that, even in the midst of all this, isn't it?" said Agent Johnson. "Almost enough to make you miss marriage."

"You've been married before?" Walter asked. Agent Johnson had remained largely quiet and observant throughout the ordeal, but maybe that was because Toby talked far too much while they were handcuffed together.

"A while back." Agent Johnson chuckled a bit. "That man was everything I wasn't: sensitive, soft-spoken, and even a bit effeminate sometimes."

"I remember him," said Cabe. "Talk about opposites attracting. Matt was his name, right?"

"That's right. And the differences were the key to the love, believe me."

Her statement lodged itself in Walter's brain, unbidden, and he asked the question that was a bit too personal. "What happened?" Were the differences too much to overcome in the end?

She looked at him, and he knew he had overstepped. Then she shrugged and gave another brief chuckle. "Well, I suppose after so much time stuck together like this, we ought to get to know each other a bit better. We… There was a miscarriage, and… we were never able to get over it."

That was indeed very personal. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"It's alright, Walter." She shrugged. "It didn't destroy the love, but it destroyed the marriage. We had been trying for a long time, and when it happened, we just couldn't handle it anymore. We couldn't be together." She gazed off into space. "Sometimes, no matter how much you love someone, God just has other plans."

Her words weighed on him, and he looked back at Toby and Happy. They were lucky.

"But, it's all far behind me now. My first love is serving this great country, and that's all I need to do to be happy."

She sounded like Cabe saying that. Actually, now that Walter thought about it, her whole story was reminiscent of Cabe's. Both of their marriages had fallen apart because of the loss of a child.

Happy finally noticed all of them watching her and Toby, and raised her eyebrows. "What?" she called. Toby looked over as well.

Walter shrugged, and walked over to them. "We were just watching you. It was… satisfying."

"That's super creepy," said Happy.

"I mean… because of the situation we're in, it was nice to see you two… happy."

"We'd be happy if we were home with Maria," said Toby.

"Yeah, I know." Walter glanced at a nearby guard that was looking out the window, and then up at the ceiling in the direction of Ralph's room.

"How's the boy wonder doing?" Toby asked. "Getting through his classes alright on that computer?"

"Yeah, he's doing just fine. He can do well in school no matter the circumstances."

"Good."

* * *

"It's going to happen this evening," Ralph had whispered to him at lunch. The whole afternoon, the anticipation had been building, and Walter had found himself looking towards the windows far too often for probably his own good. But none of the Russians seemed to notice, and Collins and Anna were in the lab the whole time.

However, Collins did seem to notice at dinner. "Walter, why are you so antsy?"

"I'm just restless," Walter replied. "We've been trapped in this house for a week now." He glanced at the empty seat where Florence should have been. Collins wasn't letting her come upstairs until his spray-bottle was full.

"Has it already been that long? It's gone by quickly for me."

"You must have been very lonely beforehand then," said Toby. Collins gave him an amused look, but then looked back at Walter suspiciously.

Suddenly, one of the guards at the windows started shouting in Russian, and Walter began to feel giddy. Collins and Anna quickly went to look, and Walter followed them.

Three figures were standing at the bottom of the long driveway. One was holding a camera, another a microphone, and the third was Richard Elia. A CBS News van was parked on the street, blocking the end of the driveway.

The camera was rolling, and Elia was giving his interview as they walked up the driveway.

"Everyone get away from the windows," Collins shouted. He turned to Anna. "That includes the guards."

"Why?"

"That's a live news camera. Do you want your operation to be on national television?"

Anna began shouting in Russian, and all of the guards left their posts at the windows.

"I will make them go away," said Isaac.

Collins peered back out the window. "That's Richard Elia," he said, finally recognizing the man. He turned to Walter. "How did you do it?"

Walter merely smiled.

Issac met Elia at the door. "Excuse me. You are not welcome here."

"Hello, friend," said Elia. "My name is Richard Elia, and your house is the place where the cure for cancer is going to be developed. I am offering you a billion dollars for this piece of property."

"The house is not for sale."

"See that camera? You are on the evening news, friend, and you are going to be a national hero."

Suddenly, the windows at the back of the house began shattering, and Homeland agents wearing Elia body armor entered the house, firing tranquilizer guns at the surprised guards. A few guards managed to return fire before they went down, but Happy and Cabe had helped design that armor, and the Russians weren't going to be able to harm the agents without a direct hit to the joints of the armor.

Walter ducked, and saw Drew pull Paige to the ground and cover her. "Come on," Collins shouted to Anna. They fled down the stairs, and Isaac went after them.

Walter got to his feet when the gunfire subsided. "Ralph?"

"I'm here," Ralph called from under the table.

Elia entered the house. "Walter, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. Thank you."

Elia nodded. He was breathing heavily, even though he hadn't been part of the gunfight himself.

"Wilson, I don't suppose you brought along any bolt cutters?" Agent Johnson asked.

One of the agents removed his helmet. "How did you know it was me?"

"Because of course you would volunteer for a crazy mission like this one."

"You can use the visors on those helmets," said Happy. "I designed them myself. They'll cut through these chains no problem. Here." She took Agent Wilson's helmet and removed the visor, then placed her hand on the table alongside Toby's.

"Careful, sweetheart," said Toby, putting as much distance between their hands as the cuffs would allow. "Don't take my fingers."

Happy slammed the visor through the chain, snapping it and cutting cleanly into the table below.

"They still have two guards in the lab down below," said Cabe. "And those stairs are the perfect bottleneck for them to hold us for a while. They'll be able to aim for the weak points of the armor before we can do anything."

"And they still have Florence," Miss Wallace added.

Agent Johnson turned to Walter. "Did you see any kind of escape tunnel out of the laboratory that they could go through?"

"No." The wall around the laboratory had seemed entirely normal.

"Then they can't hold us forever."

"And Collins isn't going to hurt Florence," Cabe added. "He still needs her."

Logically, he was right, but Collins wasn't acting so logically anymore. Walter was nervous.

Once all of the handcuff chains were broken, they descended into the hallway and stopped at the top of the stairs to the laboratory. "It's over, Mark," Walter called down.

"Is that so?" Collins called back. "Aren't you wondering what I'm doing to your sweet little girlfriend?"

"You're not doing anything to her. She's still making your formula."

There was silence, and Walter's heart began beating even faster. He had to be right.

Agent Wilson reached his helmet out over the stairs, and immediately, a bullet was lodged in it. He quickly pulled it back.

"I'll tell you what," said Collins. "Why don't you, Cabe, and Paige come downstairs. Just you three, and unarmed. The guards will let you pass."

"No," Drew replied immediately, looking at Paige. "Absolutely not."

"It's okay, Drew. I'll be fine."

"This isn't necessary," said Agent Johnson. "We can hold out."

"No, this ends now," said Paige. Turning to Ralph, she bent down and kissed his forehead. "You did wonderfully. I love you."

"I love you too, Mom."

Standing upright again, she nodded to Walter and Cabe, and they descended. The guards withheld their fire.

Collins, Anna, and Isaac were standing beside the table where Florence was working. Collins was holding the spray-bottle, which was nearly full of liquid. He smiled. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist."

"Florence, are you okay?" Walter asked. She nodded.

"There's no way out for you," said Cabe. "You know that."

"Yes, I know," said Collins. "I should have planned for that, but I really didn't think you would be able to get the help you needed." He looked back at Walter. "How did you do it?"

"It was Ralph. You took away his keyboard and limited his online access to just his college courses and Netflix. He downloaded his course syllabi and used the mouse to rearrange the letters in them, reuploading them as secret messages for his professor to relay to Elia. Elia was then given access to upload his own messages as course assignments, which Ralph could reply to in the same fashion."

Collins raised his eyebrows. "Course syllabi? I don't think I ever even looked at those things during college."

Walter shrugged. "Nor did I. This was the only time I've ever found them useful."

Collins shook his head and chuckled. "Well, I'm very impressed. And now, it all comes down to this."

"Just surrender, Mark. There's nothing else you can do."

"Oh, there's always something else I can do." Collins nodded at Isaac, who pulled out a gun and aimed it at Florence.

"You're not going to hurt her," said Walter. "She's one of the people you wanted to make your new world for. You never regarded her as an enemy."

"That's true. And like I've said, I really do think she's wonderful for you. So, it's going to be your decision." He held up the spray-bottle. "Cabe, or Paige?" He pointed the bottle at each of them in turn.

"Now!" Cabe shouted. Three helmets were thrown down the stairs, and the guards opened fire at them. One of the agents came bounding down as the helmets drew the fire, and leapt at the guard nearest the stairs. Cabe lunged forward towards Isaac, knocking his arm. Florence ducked and the gun was fired, and for a moment Walter wasn't sure which happened first. But she was okay.

Cabe and Isaac rolled on the floor. Isaac got the upper hand, slamming a fist into Cabe's face. Florence scrambled for the gun, but Anna blocked her, and the two women went down to the floor as well.

Collins and Walter both watched as they tumbled. Florence was remembering her Tae Bo classes, and she worked out every morning, so it didn't take her long to get the upper hand and land a couple of hard jabs to Anna's face. Then she rolled away, going for the gun again as Isaac continued to best Cabe.

Suddenly, Paige began coughing, and Walter quickly turned to her. Collins had been aiming the spray-bottle at her face, even as he watched the fights unfold, and he had sprayed her. She doubled over, and Walter stared in horror. "No!"

She collapsed, and he knelt over her. "No! Paige!" She began trembling and clutching her head, and he knew that there was nothing he could do for her.

Then everything went into automatic, and the world turned red. He turned to Collins, leapt at him, and knocked him to the ground. Then he began punching. "You killed her!" He felt himself punch repeatedly with all the strength he had. It felt like nothing he was doing was controlled by his brain anymore. He was watching his body do it through his own eyes, and watching as Collins's face became bloodier and bloodier.

Then Toby and Sylvester were there, pulling him away. He could barely see them, but they held him down, and his own tears fell into his eyes, blinding him.

The world passed by in a blur. The noise died down, and finally Toby and Sylvester lightened their hold on him. He turned towards Paige. Drew and Ralph were kneeling down on either side of her, and Ralph had broken down completely. Walter watched them, his heart shattering over and again each time Ralph sobbed.

Toby went over and checked her pulse. "She's alive." Walter couldn't understand the words. They were too impossible. "She's alive! She's fighting it." He looked up at the agents. "Get her to the hospital, immediately!"

As the agents lifted Paige away, Toby gently held onto Ralph, who was trying to cling to her. Walter still couldn't understand what was happening. He looked down at his hands, which were covered in blood.

Then Sylvester's words were at his ear. "She's going to be okay, Walt." His hand was on Walter's shoulder, and Walter turned to him. Sylvester was looking back at him, and Walter broke down.

* * *

Somehow, eventually, he was able to move again. Sylvester helped him up the stairs and out of the house. Paige had already been taken way in the ambulance, and Ralph and Drew had gone with her. Collins had also been rushed to the hospital.

Happy was out on the grass, helping the agents dismantle the traps that the Russians had placed in the yard. Sylvester brought Walter over to where Toby and Cabe were standing on the driveway. Cabe was holding a bloody rag to his face and looked the worse for wear, but was able to stand on his own. "I have to get to the hospital," Walter said immediately.

"She's going to be alright," said Toby. "I don't know how, but somehow she was fighting that formula, and the fact that she was still alive when they took her away was a really good sign. She should have already gone through the worst of it by then."

"I have to get to the hospital," Walter repeated. Why weren't they understanding?

"There's someone else you need to talk to first." Toby nodded in a direction, and Walter looked. Florence was sitting on the grass with her mother. She was sobbing, and her hands were shaking. "She killed Isaac."

"She saved my life," Cabe added.

Walter watched her for a moment. He needed to get to the hospital. But Toby was right. Stepping forward away from his friends, he approached her. "Florence?"

She looked up at him, and her eyes widened. She held up a shaking hand. "No. No, stop. You stay from me."

Walter froze.

"You… you… I… I can't be near you." She lowered her hand and turned to her mother.

Walter watched her, confused. He needed to get to the hospital. "What?"

"I… I killed someone." She sobbed.

"You saved Cabe's life."

"Someone is dead because of me. Because of… Because of you. Because of Scorpion. I… I can't…"

Walter didn't know what to say. And he had to get to the hospital.

"I have to go." Florence stood shakily and began walking down the hill, clinging to her mother. Walter turned helplessly to the others.

"Agent Smith, take Miss Tipton and her mother back to headquarters," said Agent Johnson, looking at one of her agents. Her voice softened. "And if she needs anything, just… You've done this before." The agent she was talking to gave Florence a sympathetic look, and nodded.

Toby approached Walter and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Alright, now let's go to the hospital."

* * *

"Sometimes, no matter how much you love someone, God just has other plans." Agent Johnson's earlier words echoed in Walter's head as he watched Paige sleep. If God was out there, Walter begged Him to help her.

Ralph and Drew were sitting on either side of her, and Ralph was holding onto her hand tightly. Walter walked over and put his hand on the boy's shoulder, and he looked up. His cheeks were stained from tears, but there was hope in his eyes.

"She's one hell of a soldier," said Cabe. His face had been stitched up, but the bruises were going to be the more painful part for a few days.

"And she must be smarter than we gave her credit for," said Toby, "or there's no way her brain would have survived that chemical attack."

Walter had already understood for some time just how smart Paige was. They never really had given her enough credit for it.

"Walter?" Walter turned towards the door at Elia's voice. He was standing there beside… Zoe?

She was wearing a suit of the body armor, and holding one of the helmets under her arm. "Well, I'll be darned," said Cabe.

"I couldn't keep her away," Elia muttered. "This was her idea, after all."

Ralph looked at them in confusion. "But you and I were talking via the assignments."

"Actually, she's the one you were talking to for the last couple of days."

Ralph's eyes widened, and he stared at her. She walked over and placed an armored hand on his shoulder. "Your mother's going to be fine, Ralph."

"It was you that came up with this?" There was awe in his voice.

She nodded, and looked at Walter. "It was the least I could do, after Mexico."

"I guess we're even."

"No, Walter, we're friends. We help each other."

Walter smiled. Zoe smiled back, then looked at Ralph again. Removing her hand from his shoulder, she held it up for him. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Ralph Dineen."

He gave a small smile and shook her hand, still looking at her with awe.

"We weren't really on the evening news back there, were we?" said Cabe.

Elia chuckled. "No. The only screen that camera was broadcasting to was an old television in the basement of the studio, but we just needed to have the light on. They're TV people, they played their parts well."

"It really was a brilliant idea. The only way those guards were going to leave their posts was if they thought the world was looking in their windows."

Zoe turned her smile to Cabe. "Thank you."

"We'll see you back in LA," said Elia. He looked around at the others in the room. "I have a feeling we have a difficult conversation coming, but I understand."

"Thank you for everything," said Walter, reaching out. They shook hands as Zoe returned to her father's side, and then the Elias left the room.

"Well, Zoe Elia's a badass," said Toby.

"Yeah, she is," said Ralph. He looked at the door for another moment before turning back to his mother.

"Speaking of daughters…" Happy put her hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Yeah," said Toby. "Listen, Walt, we should—"

"Go," said Walter. "Go be with Maria."

"We'll be back as soon as we can," Toby assured him.

He and Happy made for the doorway, but Agent Johnson appeared just as they were about to walk through it. "Excuse me. Mr. O'Brien…" She paused, entering the room. "Walter, the doctor just informed me… Mark Collins is dead."

Walter felt his body go cold. He looked down at his hands. He had washed them, but he could still envision the blood that they had been covered in. Mark's blood.

He began trembling, and couldn't make himself stop. His legs felt weak, and suddenly he was falling, until Sylvester caught him. Then a chair was beneath him, and Sylvester gently placed him into it.

"Walter…" Cabe knelt down in front of him. "Listen to me, Walt. This was the only way that it was ever going to end. He was never going to stop."

Walter tried to say something, but he couldn't speak. He had done it. It had been his hands. He recalled the sight of them slamming into Mark's face over and over. It had been him.

"Walter? Listen, I know it hurts. It always hurts to take a life. Every time."

Walter flinched at the words. Cabe had done it, many times over. But Walter had never been like him in that regard. Now he…

"It's going to take time. It always takes time to accept that there was no other way it could have gone down. There was no other way…"

But there had been. Walter had just gone into a rage. Collins was already down, already there to be taken. Walter just hadn't been able to stop.

"He would never have let us take him again. Not this time."

How could Cabe know that? How could he know? He didn't, of course. He was just saying whatever he could say to try to make Walter feel better. It wasn't working.

He looked at Paige. He couldn't face her now. He couldn't be anywhere near her. Abruptly getting up from the chair, he pushed everyone between him and the door out of the way, and then he started running.

He just ran. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't care. He went down one hallway, and then another. Doctors and nurses looked at him in confusion. Some tried to speak to him. He couldn't hear their words. He just kept running, and Mark's face flashed in front of his eyes.

Then he was at a dead end. He was surrounded by boxes and shelves, and he looked around desperately for a way to keep going. He needed to keep going. He needed to get away from all of them.

"Walter." Cabe was behind him. "Walter, stop."

Walter tried to get past him. Cabe caught him. "Let me go! I need to… I need to go."

"Walter, listen to me. It's okay, son."

"No. No it isn't. I killed… I killed him." Saying it out loud felt like he was driving a knife into himself. He fell heavily against Cabe, and Cabe gently seated him on the floor. "I killed him."

"It's okay, Walter. I'm telling you, there was no other way."

The world began swirling, and he could see his hands pummeling Mark over and over and over again. Then everything faded away.

* * *

"Walter?" It was Paige's voice. Where was she? He looked around, but all he could see was darkness. "Walter?"

Then she was standing in front of him. She was wearing that same dress again, the black one from the art fundraiser and the… The rest of the scene filled in around him. They were back on the rocket. "Why are we back on the rocket?"

"The rocket?" Paige looked around. "Right, the rocket. Um, because your subconscious chose… Well, it chose that place."

He looked back at her. "You look beautiful in that dress. You always do."

"Thank you, Walter."

He stepped forward to take her hand in his. Then he noticed that his hand was covered in blood, and he quickly drew it away. Looking down at himself, he saw that his whole body was covered in blood, blood that wasn't his own.

"Walter?" She reached out for him.

He shrunk away. "Don't touch me. I don't want to get blood on you." He backed up to the wall of the rocket. "I can't get blood on you."

"Walter, it's okay. There's no blood." She approached him.

"There's…" Walter looked down at himself. "There's blood everywhere. How can you not see it?"

"Walter, listen…" She kept coming closer.

"Stay away. I don't want to…"

"Walter…" She was almost at him. She reached for him again.

"I murdered him. I'm a murderer, Paige. You can't touch me."

She dropped her hand, but took another step forward. "You're not a murderer, Walter. You save people. Listen to me. Think about all of the people that you've saved. Imagine all of their faces."

Zoe and Ada appeared on either side of her, and behind them, hundreds of others appeared, filling the rocket. Most of their faces were shadows, people that he had never even met. But he had saved them. Scorpion had saved them.

"Mark Collins wanted to kill all of them. All of them and many, many more. You stopped him, Walter."

Walter turned, and suddenly, Collins was there. His face was covered in the blood that was dripping onto Walter's body. "I killed him."

"You had to. You did it for me, Walter. He tried to kill me."

"I thought he had killed you. I… I lost control."

"I know." She reached out for him again. "Walter, take my hand."

"No, I can't. I'm going to get blood on you."

"It's okay, Walter. You can get blood on me. Just take my hand."

He looked at Collins again, then quickly looked away. Reaching out, he took Paige's hand, and watched as the blood spread from his hand to hers.

Then a light began to fill the rocket. He squinted as it covered everything, and soon he could no longer see.

As his eyes adjusted, he found himself lying on a cot in the hospital. Paige was leaning over him, her hand holding his. She was still wearing her hospital gown.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"You're awake?"

She nodded.

He looked around. Everyone was standing around him. Happy was even holding Maria. "What happened?"

"You fainted," said Cabe. "You were out cold for several hours."

"Emotional exhaustion," said Toby. "I never would have thought I'd be saying those words to you."

Walter looked back at Paige, then at where their hands were joined. "Can you, um… Can you not do that?"

She looked down at their hands. After a moment, she pulled away.

"Listen, Walter." Cabe reached out for his shoulder. "I hope you understand, it—"

"I do, I understand." Walter couldn't hear Cabe say the words again. "He wanted to kill everyone. It had to be done."

"That's right, son."

"Don't touch me, please."

Cabe frowned, withdrawing his hand.

Maria pointed. "Wala."

"That's right, Maria, that's Uncle Walter," said Happy.

Walter quickly looked away from the baby. "Can we get out of here?"

"Well, I've been released," said Paige, "so as long as the doctor says you're—"

"I'm fine." Walter sat up, turning away from her.

"I'll get the doctor," said Toby.

"And… I'll just get dressed," said Paige, sighing.

* * *

Walter stared at the bars. He had found his way to the holding cells at headquarters, and now he walked up and grabbed onto the bars, leaning his head against them. It was so easy to envision himself on the other side of these bars, and he would hardly feel out of place there.

"Walter O'Brien."

He looked over and saw Anna standing two cells away. "Anna." He walked over to her cell, watching her glare at him. "Look, I'm… I'm so sorry about Mark."

"You're sorry? You don't understand the meaning of the word, Walter. But I'll make you understand."

"He was my friend once. He was… he was a member of my team, but he…"

"He had vision. And now he won't be alive to see that vision come true." He watched her face transform, becoming an expression of pure hatred. "I don't accept your apology, Walter. I'm never going to forgive you."

Walter frowned, watching as she stepped right up to the bars, placing her hands on them and looking at him from between them.

"I'm going to imagine your face every night, before I go to sleep. And I want you to imagine mine. Because, one day, I'm going to take away everything you love. I'm going to destroy your life completely, and leave you in a cold, empty world. And only then will you truly feel sorry, because only then will you understand what I feel right now."


	11. Restoration

**A/N: Hey all. Here's the end of part two. This is a much, much lighter chapter than the previous one, and I think we can all agree that is necessary. I promise that part three doesn't get as dark as part two did.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: CBS owns _Scorpion_.**

 **Chapter 11: Restoration**

"So, why did I imagine the rocket?"

Toby shrugged. "My professional theory would be that your subconscious retreated to the place where you were isolated with imaginary Paige. You knew that she was what you needed, and so you went back to the place where only she could talk to you."

"But we've been alone lots of times since, and those times she… well, she was actually there."

"Yeah, I think you needed imaginary Paige at that moment. Not the real thing."

"That doesn't make sense."

"Considering the circumstances, you were afraid to truly face her. You needed her, but… not her."

Walter considered the words. "Alright."

"Did you sleep okay last night?"

"Would you expect me to?"

"No. We just went through one hell of a week, and the last couple days were an entirely different experience for you than they were for the rest of us."

Walter nodded. "I didn't sleep well." He had thought not just about Mark, but also about Anna. She had appeared in a nightmare, standing over the dead bodies of Paige and Ralph.

Toby nodded, then leaned forward. "Listen, Walter. As we were leaving the hospital yesterday, you pulled away again. Emotionally, I mean. Like you used to. You didn't want people to touch you or anything. And that's a completely expected relapse. You lost control of your emotions, and you did something because of that, something that you will never be able to forget about. You saw just how scary your emotions can be. But don't be afraid of emotions. Don't start with that again."

Walter tried to digest that, but… "I can't think about that right now."

"I understand. Just know, I'm going to be keeping my eye on you, O'Brien. I'm not letting you hide from your own heart again the way that you used to. And we're going to have plenty more conversations like this."

Walter nodded. "Alright."

"Good." Toby stood. "Let's see if the others are here yet." They left the little library and went back into the living room, where Happy and Maria had now been joined by Paige and Sylvester. "Still no Cabe?"

"He's finishing up the paperwork for his reinstatement," said Paige.

"He should be old hat at that by now. What's this, his third time?" Toby plopped down onto the couch beside his wife and daughter.

"At least," Paige replied.

"Speaking of paperwork, how was your morning, boss?"

She gave a small laugh. "Considering what the last several mornings were like, I suppose I can't complain. At least I got to wake up in my own bed again."

Walter sat down beside Sylvester on the other couch, watching her. He thought about what she had looked like in that hospital bed, and how deeply he had dreaded what might have happened.

"What time did Drew leave your place last night?" Toby asked. Drew had left the headquarters with Paige and Ralph, but Walter had been too caught up with other thoughts to think too much about it.

"He, um, didn't." She quickly held up her hand as everyone started to react. "He slept on the couch. Ralph needed him there."

That made sense. After everything that had happened, Ralph would want to be with both of his parents.

"Alright," said Toby.

Maria pointed at Walter. "Wala."

Walter gave her a smile.

"I think you might be her favorite uncle," said Toby. "But only because she doesn't want to even attempt Sylvester's name."

"I take no offense to that," said Sylvester.

Maria pointed at Paige. "Pij."

"Yes, hello there." Paige leaned over towards the baby, kissing her forehead. "Aunt Paige loves you."

Maria smiled. "Pij."

Walter couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. Then he recalled his nightmare, and the smile fell just as quickly as it had emerged.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Happy called.

Cabe entered, and Maria immediately pointed towards him. "Gab."

"Hi there."

"On the road to reinstatement once again, Agent Gallo?"

"Yes indeed. God, I've missed hearing that title." Cabe walked over and gently tickled Maria. She squealed. Then Cabe turned to Walter. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," Walter replied, adding a small shrug. Toby gave him a glance, and he cleared his throat. "I mean, well, I will be okay. Thank you… Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome." Cabe walked over and joined him and Sylvester on the other couch. "This is a nice place you've got here," he said to Toby and Happy.

"Yeah, it's nice," said Happy. "It's not LA, though."

"You miss home?"

"Every day." Happy glanced at Toby, who nodded in agreement.

"So, come home," said Walter. "We're leaving Elia's company, and Cabe is getting reinstated." He was done hedging his bets on this. "Scorpion is reforming."

Toby and Happy looked at the others.

"I already put up a listing for a subtenant for my apartment this morning," said Sylvester. He had clearly anticipated this conversation. "It shouldn't take long to find someone to cover the remainder of my lease. And I sent emails to Dyfrost and to Tom Jenkins, who took over my post as Alderman."

"Wow, you've clearly been planning this out," said Happy. "Are you going to try to get your post on the council back?"

Sylvester shrugged. "No, I think Tom's been doing a fine job." He looked at Paige, and everyone else did the same.

Paige looked around at all of them. "Well, I'm sure Ralph will be happy to transfer back to Caltech, but he does have to finish the semester here first."

Walter's insides grew a little heavier. That would mean a couple months before Paige could return to LA.

"Paige, I know you don't want to hear this," Toby said quietly, "but Drew's been doing a half-decent job in the father department lately. A few months with him might not be the worst thing in the world for Ralph, and vice versa. And Ralph's old enough now that he can fill in the blanks for any of Drew's lingering failings."

"Are you suggesting that I spend a few months on the far side of the country from my son?"

"He's at that age. Mentally, at least."

Paige sighed. Walter knew her well enough to know that it wasn't so much concern for Ralph that was primarily driving her reluctance. She had raised him single-handedly, and had never been away from him for any prolonged period of time. She needed him as much as he had always needed her.

"Paige, he's going to be fine," said Sylvester. "And you can book a flight for him for the moment his last final ends. Well, I calculate that he'll need at least 2.4 hours to get back to Drew's, pack, and get to the airport in time to make his flight, but, close enough."

Happy reached out and took Paige's hand. "Guys, you're asking a mother to leave her child behind for a few months. Give her some time to breathe."

Everyone shifted their stares to Happy. Maria looked around and giggled.

Paige was silent for several seconds. Then she looked at Walter. "Walter, can I talk to you?"

He nodded and stood, and led her to back to the library where he had just been talking to Toby. After she entered, he shut the door.

"Walter, if this is going to work, we all need to be completely honest with each other. No more secrets."

"I know."

"And another thing: It can't be… We can't… Getting Scorpion back together doesn't mean you and I…"

"I completely agree." A flash of the nightmare passed through his mind again. "You and I should just be friends."

She slumped a little as he said the words, even though she had been trying to say them herself. "Yeah."

"Paige, this is all going to work out fine. After everything that we've been through, we should be perfectly capable of just being friends. It's been a lot more painful for everyone when we've been… otherwise."

She grimaced, but nodded.

"And Ralph will be fine, too. He is an extremely intelligent boy. And he'll manage to stay busy enough that these few months will pass by very quickly."

"For him, at least."

"Well, we'll just have to stay busy as well, then. And as a full team again, I'm sure we'll be able to."

She thought about it for another moment, then gave a small smile. "Alright, Walter. I'll come back."

* * *

As Walter sat with Cabe at the gate in the airport, he thought about all of the new cases that the restored Team Scorpion might encounter. The possibilities were endless.

"Walter?" He looked up, seeing Florence. She was standing beside her mother.

"Florence. Hi." Walter stood. "Are you also returning to LA now?"

"Um, no, we're…" She briefly glanced at her mother. "We're going to see William in Palo Alto."

"Oh. I'm sure your brother will be happy to see you both."

She gave a small smile. "Um, can we… Can we talk?"

Walter glanced at the clock. He had plenty of time. "Sure."

Florence glanced at her mother again. "I'll wait for you at the gate," said Miss Wallace, leaving and walking further down the terminal.

They took a pair of secluded seats at a gate that was currently unused. "Listen," said Walter. "I'm really sorry about what happened at—"

"Please don't talk about that. That's not what I want to talk about."

"Okay." Walter waited.

"I wanted to tell you…" She trailed off. "Perhaps I should start at the beginning. Last year, on Valentine's Day, when Paige had the flu, I brought her some medicine. And we had a… strange conversation."

Walter frowned. He couldn't recall Paige telling him about any conversation with Florence on Valentine's Day last year.

"We talked about you, and I told her… I told her that you and I could never be together, because we were too similar. But, after that conversation, I realized that maybe being with someone who was too similar to me was the safest way to go."

"Safest?"

"I spent my twenties staring at men who were… wildly different from us. Men who I could never realistically have a prolonged relationship with. I was like a schoolgirl dreaming about the quarterback of the football team, and it took me a long time to grow out of that phase. In the process, I got my heart broken more than a few times.

"Being with you, I always felt like I was safe. We understood each other so well, without effort, and I always felt that if things were going to end between us, I would see it coming from a mile away. And, in truth, I did.

"It was so easy to be with you, Walter, but part of the reason for that was the knowledge that I was always second in your heart. That's not to say that I didn't truly come to love you, because I did. But Scorpion was always going to come first for you, and as long as we could both devote ourselves to being part of the team, we didn't have to devote so much to each other. But that meant that when one of those two things went, the other would have to go as well. We both knew that all along. And we knew which one was going to happen first."

She was right, of course. The primary matter had never been their romantic relationship, but always her presence on the team. Their relationship had begun and proceeded because of it. Scorpion had always come first, whether it was Scorpion 2.0 or Elia's Scorpion Solutions.

"And now, after what happened, I can't be part of the team anymore. I can never put that behind me. I… What I did…" She shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I know I saved Cabe's life, but… I can never do something like that again. Never."

Mark's face flashed before his eyes again as he listened to her words, and he quickly shook it away.

"I'm never going to be able to forget about it, Walter. The face, the blood." She quickly shook away her own imagery. "And I can't be a part of Scorpion if there's any chance that something like that could ever happen again. I need to… I need to go back to being boring."

Walter nodded. "I understand."

"Good. Because it also means, of course, that you and I can't be together anymore. It turns out being with you was not the safest way to go after all. And, it hurts, but… The love that grew between us was never… _that_ love, you know?"

"I know. I did come to love you, but… it was a product of being with you, not the other way around."

"Exactly. It wasn't… naturally occurring. And love is supposed to be natural. It's supposed to be…" She shrugged. "Chemistry."

He chuckled a little at her use of the word.

"I'm… I'm glad you agree. And… I hope you have a wonderful life, Walter. I hope that you bring Scorpion back together, and do as many great things as you did before. I'll be looking for your name in the news. And most of all, I hope that you'll be happy."

He smiled. "Likewise."

She returned his smile, then stood. "Have a safe flight."

"You too." He watched as she walked away, then glanced out the window. That had been… easy… painless, like every other part of their relationship. She had always been easy to be with, and balancing their work and their relationship had never felt like much of a burden. Like she said, Scorpion had always come first, and as it went, so would their relationship go.

And now that the real Scorpion was being restored, their relationship would have had to end, anyway. It could never have worked while she was still around.

He would have to sublease their apartment, of course. It was too big for just him, and the rent was far higher than he felt the need to pay for just his own needs. He could find a studio in which to wait out the remainder of the sublease on the garage, as long as Scorpion was going to be able to find a suitable operations center elsewhere in the city. That shouldn't be too difficult.

He looked at the clock at the gate. They would start boarding soon. Getting up, he returned to Cabe.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I am. It was… fairly painless."

"That's not unexpected. With you two it was never… you know."

"Yeah, I know."

The boarding announcement was made over the intercom, and Cabe stood. "Come on, let's go home."

* * *

A few days later, Walter and Cabe once again stood at LAX, where they were joined by, of all people, Dyfrost. "Greetings, Sir Magnus." Dyfrost clutched his fist to his chest and bowed towards Cabe.

"Dyfrost, how the hell are you?"

"I am quite well, good sir." Dyfrost gestured to the woman beside him. "May I present my cousin, Lady Susan of the Wintry Bay."

She looked at least fifteen years younger than he was, and smiled giddily as she imitated his salute at Cabe. "I am deeply honored, Sir Magnus. I have heard tales of your magnificent quests."

Walter and Cabe exchanged a glance. "Are you also here to meet Sly?" Cabe asked.

"Indeed," Dyfrost replied. "Sylvester informed me that his winged steed would arrive at this hour. My cousin is also newly arrived in these lands, and I had the notion that they should meet."

"I see. Welcome to the City of Angels, my lady."

"I thank you, kind sir."

Cabe turned back to Walter, chuckling under his breath. Walter did his best to conceal his own amusement, for Dyfrost's benefit.

Minutes later, he was stunned to see not only Sylvester, but also Paige emerge from the terminal. Sylvester saw them and waved, and then saluted Dyfrost.

"Welcome home," said Cabe.

As Sylvester was introduced to Dyfrost's cousin, Walter turned to Paige. "I thought you would be staying a little while longer with Ralph."

"Yeah, I did too, but… it would have just made things more painful." She gave a small shrug. "It's only a couple of months." He knew she was probably telling herself that once an hour, at a minimum.

"Well, welcome home."

She nodded. "Thank you."

They both turned and watched the awkward meeting between Sylvester and Lady Susan. Lady Susan was flustered, and Sylvester looked more amused by Dyfrost's notion than interested in it.

"He really goes everywhere in costume, doesn't he?" said Paige.

"I think she's in costume, too," Walter replied. "Unless she's Amish."

"Could be both."

He chuckled, then turned back to her. "I've been looking for new office space for us. I haven't found anything yet that's fully suitable."

"That's already taken care of. The attorney that we subleased our space to has already given up on his private practice. He never managed to become competitive. So, it's ours again, if we want it. Would you be okay with that?"

"That would be great." He had only been at that office once while it had belonged to Team Centipede, and the location would hardly hold a negative association for him.

"Good. We should be able to fit two more desks without issue. It is just two, right?" She gave him a scrutinizing gaze.

"Of course. Although, in the spirit of full disclosure, I did run into her at the airport on the way out of Washington. We talked."

"Oh?"

"We both accepted the fact that she could no longer be part of Scorpion. And, because of that, we could no longer be together romantically. The romantic relationship had always been an extension of the professional one."

"Well, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It was painless, really."

"Breakups are never completely painless, Walter."

"Well, then, relatively speaking, it was."

She nodded, and looked back over at the others. He did the same.

* * *

Since she hadn't found a new apartment in LA yet, she would be staying at Sylvester's new place for the time being. Walter and Cabe helped them settle in, and Paige opened her laptop and logged onto skype before they were even finished. She called Ralph immediately.

"Hi, Mom."

"Hi. I just… I wanted to make sure everything was alright back there."

"It's fine. I promise.

"Good. And, um, is Drew making dinner? Or attempting to, I should say."

"He's getting takeout."

Paige sighed. "Of course he is."

"Are the others there?"

Walter stuck his head in the camera's line of vision and waved. "Hi, Ralph."

Ralph smiled. "Hi, Walter. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks." Cabe and Sylvester also moved so Ralph could see them.

"Hi, everyone."

"Hey, kid," said Cabe. "Los Angeles misses you."

"I'll be back there soon. Keep telling my mom that."

"We will," said Sylvester.

"Good." Ralph glanced over his shoulder. "Dad's back with dinner. I'll talk to you all soon."

"Oh. Alright," said Paige. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Mom. Bye, everyone."

Everyone else waved, and Ralph hung up.

Paige closed her laptop. "Takeout? He's going to be diabetic by the time he gets here."

"That's extremely unlikely," said Sylvester.

* * *

The next surprise came a couple of weeks later, after Toby and Happy had arrived and everyone had settled into the new office. The team was informed that Carson would no longer be running operations at the LA field office. He was being replaced by one Agent Candace Johnson from Washington.

Cabe immediately called Agent Johnson, putting her on speaker phone.

"Johnson."

"Candace, how come you didn't mention you were moving out to LA?"

"It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I called in a favor with some friends at the White House, and it was agreed that the director out there should be someone who handled outside contracts better than Carson did."

Everyone smiled at this. "Well, we couldn't agree more," said Cabe.

"Good. I'll be seeing you soon, Gallo."

"I look forward to it."

She hung up, and Toby raised his eyebrows at Cabe.

"What?"

"You really are looking forward to it."

"Well of course. She's going to be a hell of a lot better than Carson was."

"That's not what I mean. The indicators are all over your face, old man."

"Knock it off, Toby." Paige's phone rang. "That better be a new case."

* * *

"Oh. Oh crap." Paige clung tightly to the balcony railing, which she was on the wrong side of.

"Paige, let go. I will catch you," said Sylvester, who was standing with Cabe on the balcony below.

Walter and Toby were on the street below. "She's panicking too much," said Toby.

Walter had a brief flash of Anna standing over Paige's body in what had become a recurring nightmare, but he shook it away. "Paige, listen to me. Sylvester is going to catch you. You just have to let go."

"And what if he doesn't?" Paige replied.

"He will. Do you trust me?"

"Always."

"Good. Then let go."

Paige did so, and fell into Sylvester's waiting arms. Cabe quickly pulled them both back from the railing of that balcony.

"Oh, how I missed being part of Scorpion," Paige muttered, breathing heavily into the comm.

Walter took only a moment to let the relief wash over him. "Happy?"

"We're good here," Happy replied over the comm. "Well, by that I mean that the building's not about to explode. There's still the matter of…"

"The drugs," Cabe finished for her. "My turn."

Silence fell over the comms, until gunshots were heard. Several gunshots were followed by the sound of physical fighting, and Cabe breathing heavily.

Then he spoke again. "Alright, I've got three knocked-out criminals and a few million dollars' worth of drugs that aren't going to hit the streets."

"Nicely done, gramps," said Happy.

"Really?" Cabe muttered, breathing heavily.

Walter took his comm out. "Toby, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Toby glanced at him and also took his comm out. "Sure, Walt."

"I've been, um, having a recurring nightmare. It's of Anna… killing everyone."

"Anna? She's going to be in prison for a very long time, Walter. If she doesn't wind up institutionalized."

"Mark always found ways to escape."

"Anna isn't Mark, as much as she would have liked to be. She's not getting out, Walt."

Walter nodded. "We, um… We talked in Washington, when she was in custody. She said she was going to destroy my life, and take away everyone I cared about."

"Well, she's a psychopath, but she can't do it." Toby placed his hand on Walter's shoulder, and Walter fought the instinct to pull away from it. "And don't you try to use that as an excuse to avoid caring about people. Lord knows we've made enemies, but no one is going to take everyone away from you. No one except yourself, that is."

"Alright." Walter looked up as Paige and Sylvester emerged from the building.

* * *

Finally, as the spring warmed its way towards summer, the entire team found its way back to LAX. Paige practically ran to the terminal, even though they were early.

"You know, you moving faster isn't going to make that plane land faster," said Toby.

"Oh, shut up."

She bounced on the balls of her feet as they waited. Finally, Ralph appeared, and she threw open her arms.

He walked over and hugged her. "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, baby." She hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek.

"Um, can we tone it down a bit?" He looked around self-consciously at the crowd.

"Oh? You're afraid to be embarrassed in front of perfect strangers?"

"I missed you, but we are in the middle of an airport."

"Fine. Let's get your things and go to the car."

Ralph turned to the others. "Hi, everyone."

"Hey, kiddo," said Happy, who was holding Maria.

Ralph looked at Maria. "Do you remember me?" He reached out and put his finger against her palm.

Maria grabbed the finger, but didn't say anything. Then she looked at Paige. "Pij?"

Paige smiled a little. "Give her some time, Ralph. She'll recognize you."

Ralph turned to Walter. "Oh, Walter, did you bring the code?"

"Oh, crap." Ralph had sent Walter a code for them to work with when he arrived. Walter had placed it on a USB key, but then left the key at the office. "I left it at the office. I'll run back and get it, and then meet you all at Paige's."

He quickly left the airport and drove back to the office, trying to avoid thinking about how disappointed Ralph must have been.

When he arrived, he turned on the light, ran over to his desk, and grabbed the key. Then he returned to the door and turned off the light.

"Walter?"

He froze. "Megan?" He quickly turned the light back on and looked around. The room was empty.

He shook his head. He must have been hearing things. Turning the light off again, he shut and locked the door and ran back to his car.


	12. Orientation

**A/N: Hey all. Onward to part three! This chapter picks up about three months after the end of chapter 11.**

 **A couple of notes regarding universities: First, an apology to any Berkeley alumni among my awesome readers. I didn't realize until I was writing this chapter that I misspelled Berkeley way back in chapter 3. I promise it is spelled correctly in this and coming chapters.**

 **Second, regarding Caltech: I've already mentioned that Ralph is transferring back there and Ada attends there. A fair amount of part three takes place there, but because I've never actually been there and I took a lot of liberties regarding the campus and the faculty, I avoid referring to the school by name anywhere in part three. In all instances, it is simply referred to as the school/college/university/etc., and you all can think of the setting as a fictional university with the fictional locations and people referred to.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: CBS owns _Scorpion_.**

 **Chapter 12: Orientation**

"Are you sure about this, Ralph?" Paige asked.

"It's a little bit late to be asking that now, Mom. Never mind that it's the seventh time you've asked. Yes, I'm sure."

"Okay." Paige turned and looked up at the dormitory building behind her.

"He'll be fine," said Drew, who was towing the heavier of Ralph's two suitcases.

"I concur," said Walter, who was towing the lighter suitcase. "He's not just a genius, he's also your son."

"Thanks, Walter," said Drew.

"I… I was talking to Paige."

Drew chuckled. "I know."

"I've already technically been a college student for a while now, but I haven't gotten to feel like a real college student yet. Living in a college dormitory will be a key experience in my social development."

"That's one way to put it," said Toby. Maria was scampering around at his feet, examining whatever she could find on the ground.

"Come on," said Drew. "Let's not just stand out here holding these suitcases for the entire semester."

"Um, I'm not sure you're all going to fit in the dorm," said Ralph, turning to the team.

"I will take Maria over to the quad," Toby immediately volunteered. "I have no particular need to revisit the experience of the college dormitory."

"And I will go with you," Happy added just as quickly, picking Maria up.

"And I will…" Sylvester began. "Well, I just really don't want to go in there. College dormitories are just…" He gestured his disgust.

Ralph sighed and looked at Walter. "I'm coming," Walter assured him.

"Me too," said Cabe. "It's been a long time since I've been in one of these things."

"Maybe you'll see some grandparents that you went to college with," said Toby. Cabe sighed and shook his head.

"Alright," said Ralph, looking at the building. He took a second to brace himself. "Let's go."

They entered the building, and saw a long line for use of the elevator. "Oh. Right," said Drew. "Stairs?"

"Really?" asked Walter. "To the fourth floor?" He frowned down at the suitcase he was towing.

"Come on, Walter, a little exercise never hurt anyone."

"That's objectively false."

They went to the bottom of the stairs. Drew lifted the suitcase he was towing up over his shoulder and started climbing. Ralph turned to Walter. "I'll help you." They each took one side of the suitcase and lifted, slowly carrying it upwards.

By the time they reached the third floor, Walter was panting. "You know, I'm sure Happy could increase the speed of that elevator by at least 60%. That would make move-in day much more efficient for everyone."

"I'll be sure to broach the idea to the school," Ralph replied.

Finally, they reached the fourth floor, and set down the suitcase. Walter let the arm that had been carrying more of the weight dangle for a moment, while Ralph put his hands on his knees.

"Ah, welcome." An older boy carrying a clipboard quickly approached them. "And who might you be?"

"Ralph Dineen."

The boy searched the sheet on his clipboard. "Dineen, Dineen… Ah. Far end of the hallway on the left." The boy turned to Walter. "And you must be Mr. Dineen."

"Uh, no," said Drew, who was standing against the wall behind the boy. "I'm M… I'm the father." He held out his hand. "Drew Baker."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Baker." The boy shook his hand, then turned to Paige. "And that would make you…" He clearly didn't want to make any more assumptions regarding the last names in the family.

"Paige Dineen, Ralph's mother." They shook hands.

"Very pleased to meet you. And…" The boy turned to Cabe, and paused. "James Bond?"

"Cabe Gallo."

"Okay." The boy quickly turned back to Ralph. "I'm Warren, and I'll be your RA. Feel free to come to me if you need anything at all. Can I help you with your suitcase?"

"Yes, please."

"Certainly." Warren took the suitcase and led them down the hall to Ralph's room. "As I'm sure you know, there is no smoking on this floor, nor on any other floor in this building. As a matter of fact, this is a substance-free floor, so there are no intoxicating substances of any kind permitted here." He gave a sigh. "Well, we'll see how long that lasts this year."

"How long the rule lasts, or how long it's followed for?" Drew asked.

"The second one."

"My guess would be around three hours."

"I like your optimism."

They reached the room, and Ralph peered inside. "It appears I already have a roommate." More than half of the space in the small room was already covered by belongings.

"Yes, your roommate has already arrived. I believe he went looking for the fitness center."

Ralph entered the room and sat on the mattress that was still bare. The bedsprings whined beneath him.

"Thank you very much for your help," said Paige.

"You're very welcome. Again, please let me know if you need anything." Warren walked off down the hall.

"Man, this brings back memories," said Drew, smiling wistfully as he entered the room and looked around. He turned to Paige. "Remember?"

"Oh, believe me, I remember." Her expression suggested the memories were considerably less pleasant for her than they were for him, which of course stood to reason.

"Mom, Dad, right now I need you to not remind me of the fact that I was conceived in a room like this one," said Ralph. Quickly getting off the bed, he knelt down and opened one of his suitcases.

Slowly, Ralph's half of the room came together. Walter helped set up all of the hardware on his tiny desk, hoping that a roommate who immediately went looking for the fitness center wouldn't accidentally damage anything.

Said roommate appeared shortly before he was finished. "Oh, hey, the roomie's here." He was built like a runner, tall and skinny with powerful legs. Entering the room, he reached out towards Ralph. "I'm Billy."

"I'm Ralph. Pleased to meet you." Ralph's hand practically disappeared inside Billy's as they shook.

"Awesome stuff," said Billy, glancing at the equipment that Walter was setting up. "Hey, let me know if you want to work out together in the mornings. I always enjoy working out with other people."

"Um, I will let you know."

"Awesome. Well, I'll get out of the way and let you finish setting up your digs." He paused, noticing Cabe for the first time. "Whoa, your grandfather looks like James Bond. That's cool."

Ralph and Cabe exchanged a glance.

"Well, anyway, see you later, man." Billy turned and left the room, slapping the top of the doorframe as he went.

"Well…" said Paige, "he seems nice."

"Yeah."

"And, regular workout sessions could be useful."

"Not if I'm in a coma by the time he's a third of the way through his routine. If I'm going to work out, it should be on my own."

"You're probably right. But hey, I'm sure you'll find some common ground."

"There's always a common ground for men in college," said Drew, who was leaning against Ralph's newly-made bed. "Women."

Paige lifted an empty plastic bag that she had balled up and threw it at him. "Or classes."

There was a knock on the doorframe, and everyone turned to look again. A balding man in an aged, brown suit was standing there. "Um, excuse me." He looked at everyone in the room in turn, until his eyes found Walter. "It's Mr. O'Brien, correct?"

"Yes."

"Oh, excellent. I had heard you were here. I'm Charles Wilkes, and I'm in charge of orientation. Unfortunately, our speaker for tomorrow night had to cancel. Mr. O'Brien, the university would be most appreciative if you would be able to take her place."

Walter frowned. "You want me to… give a speech?"

"Yes. I think it would be excellent for the students to hear from someone as brilliant as you are, to say nothing of your accomplishments over the past few years."

This man wasn't even aware of most of those accomplishments, unless he had a security clearance.

Paige looked at Walter. "I think that would be a great idea."

He returned her look with one that was considerably more reluctant. But… "Alright, I'll do it."

"Excellent. Thank you very, very much. If you could please arrive here by five PM tomorrow. You will be introduced promptly at six."

The man vanished from the doorway, and Walter looked at Paige again. "Really?"

"Hey, you agreed to it."

"I can't wait to see this," said Cabe.

"I can," said Ralph.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That it won't be long before everyone knows I work with you. I don't need to be a celebrity here."

"If you would prefer, I won't mention you," said Walter.

"I would prefer that. But people will find out anyway."

"That might not be a bad thing," said Paige. "There's nothing wrong with people liking you."

"Especially women," said Drew, and Paige went looking for her plastic bag again.

It was Ralph who found the bag and threw it at his father this time. "Will you be coming to the speech?"

"Actually, I have a date tomorrow night."

"Really?" Paige raised her eyebrows. "You've been in Los Angeles for barely two weeks."

He shrugged. "It's a new app I'm trying. Who knows how it will go?"

Paige rolled her eyes. Walter was pleased that she didn't look more displeased.

"I'm sorry I'll miss it, Walter. I'm sure you'll do well."

"Thanks, Drew. Good luck with your date."

* * *

"So, it seems that a lot of random computer glitches are occurring today, all over California," said Sylvester, frowning at the online traffic he was seeing on his computer. "They're all routine glitches, but… it's a weird coincidence."

"That's true. It might be worth monitoring, but…" Walter's focus was certainly not on that right now.

"Right. I'll do the monitoring, you focus on writing your speech."

"Yeah, how's that coming along, Walt?" Toby asked.

"Well, I've printed out a collection of the most famous speeches in history. I'm checking for patterns among them to see what people have responded most positively to, so that I can—"

"No, no, no, you're not doing it that way." Paige stood and walked over to his desk. Grabbing the pile of paper in front of him, she tossed it all in the recycling bin. "You are going to write something that is truly from you, Walter. Something that comes from your heart."

"Um…"

"Good luck with that," said Happy.

"Happy, a little encouragement goes a long way."

"I'm sure you'll do great, Walt."

Paige turned back to Walter. "You are perfectly capable of doing it. I will help you if you need it."

"I… I do need it."

"Should we give you some time alone?" Toby asked. Paige gave him her look, and he fell silent, facing his computer again.

* * *

"Let no one ever tell you that you are incorrect in becoming who you desire to be." Walter looked around the audience again, the way Paige had advised him to do. He wasn't sure that was the best idea for focus, considering he had already spotted no fewer than three robots in the audience. "Aim directly towards whatever that desire is, whatever you believe will truly make you the best person you can be. And whatever you believe will make you the most capable of helping others.

"Because, above all, never stop trying to help others. Helping others is often thankless and often difficult, but just imagine a world where everyone helped each other, however they could. That seems to me like a much happier, more sustainable world.

"I made my career helping others, and that was how I discovered where I was meant to be, and how to become the person that I desired to become. Because, through helping others, I learned how to understand them. Through understanding them, I learned how to socialize among them. And through that…" His gaze fell to Paige. He couldn't help it. "…I learned how to be truly happy."

He fell silent as their eyes met, momentarily losing track of his speech. "And that is my wish for all of you. You're going to learn many important things in your classes at this great university. But also pay attention to the lessons that you are going to learn outside of your classes, among your peers. You will find that it is some combination of both of those that will guide you towards your goals and desires, and towards happiness. Thank you."

The applause erupted, and a scattering of students across the auditorium immediately stood. Others followed, and soon, almost everyone was standing. Walter felt giddy.

Dean Wilkes joined him at the podium, and shook his hand. "Excellent speech, Mr. O'Brien."

Walter thanked him and stepped away, allowing him to retake the podium and conclude the event.

Afterwards, he stepped off the stage and joined the others. "Very well done, O'Brien," said Toby.

"Yeah, Walter, that was really good," said Sylvester.

"Thanks." His eyes found Paige again. "Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome."

"Walter!" Ralph came trotting over. "That was a really good speech!"

Paige raised an eyebrow at her son. "I thought you didn't want to be seen with us here."

"Yeah, but, after that, I had to come over and say he did an awesome job. And, you wrote a lot of that, didn't you? Parts of it sounded more like you than like him."

"I helped. But every word was written down by him."

"Hi, Walter." Walter looked up as Zoe approached.

"Zoe? Um, you don't go here."

"Yeah, I leave for Berkeley tomorrow. But when I heard you'd be speaking, I had to see it for myself. My dad also wanted to come, but he couldn't. You did really well."

"Thank you."

She looked at Ralph. "Could you give me a tour of the campus?"

His eyes widened. "Um, I don't know it that well yet, but I'll do my best."

She smiled, and he didn't seem able to move until Paige gently nudged him. He quickly turned back to the others. "See you later." Then he quickly walked off, leading Zoe out of the auditorium.

"I think maybe Ralph hasn't learned his lesson yet about older women," said Toby.

"Hey, she initiated it," said Happy.

"Guys, please stop there," said Paige.

"Walter O'Brien," said a mechanical-sounding voice. Walter turned in surprise as one of the robots he had seen in the audience approached him. "That was a very good speech."

"Um, thank you. You… You enjoyed it?" It was a ridiculous question. Logically, robots weren't capable of enjoying speeches.

"I most certainly did."

Walter wasn't sure whether to be pleased or nervous about that. That programming couldn't be correct.

Then the sound of laugher emerged from the robot. "Oh, shake hands with Ariel, you wackadoodle." The robot extended a jointed arm with two phalanges on the end.

Happy's eyes widened. "Ada?"

"Hi, Happy."

Walter gently shook Ariel's arm as Happy approached and closely examined the ro… remote interface. "Well done. This really is a work of genius."

"Thank you," said a woman who approached behind Ariel. "You must be Sprocketace77." She was Latin-American, with a very slight accent.

"And you must be Cecilia," said Toby.

The woman gave Ariel a sideways glance. "They know of me?"

"Yes." The reply was very faint, suggesting that Ada had said it so quietly that her microphone had barely picked it up.

Cecilia gave a small smile.

"My real name is Happy Quinn. Very pleased to meet you." They shook hands. "You put Ariel together?"

"Much of her, though there was ample help. And I always had a beautiful voice in my ear."

The line sent Walter back several years, to when he himself had said something similar about Paige.

"Very impressive," said Happy.

"Thank you." Cecilia turned to Walter. "So was your speech, Mr. O'Brien. Based on what Ada told me about you, I did not expect it."

"Well, I also had help." He briefly glanced at Paige.

"How about a celebratory dinner?" asked Toby.

"You two are invited, of course," said Happy.

"It has to be somewhere on campus," said Cecilia. "Even with the signal booster, she can only go so far from it, and there aren't really any good places in range."

"Well, campus food it is, then," said Toby. "Show us to your favorite spot."

Cecilia gestured towards an exit at the front of the auditorium, and started leading them.

"Isn't it faster to get outside via the back?" Walter asked.

"Yes, but I can't do stairs," said Ada. "At least not yet."

"Oh, right."

They exited the auditorium and approached an elevator, and she adeptly aimed one of Ariel's arms to push the button.

"When we get to wherever we're going, we should let Ralph know where to meet us," said Paige.

"Ralph and Zoe, you mean," said Toby. Paige gave him a glance.

The elevator arrived, but it was too small for all of them to fit in. "You guys go ahead," said Cabe, who remained outside with Sylvester. "We'll take the stairs and meet you above.

"You got it," said Ada, using Ariel to press the button for the main floor. The doors closed, and the elevator began climbing. Then it stopped.

"Great," said Toby. "I think you're up, my dear."

"On it," Happy replied.

Just as she was about to open the panel, however, a machine-changed voice sounded. "Walter O'Brien."

"Hello?" Walter asked. He looked around, but there didn't seem to be any microphone for him to reply through.

"You may call me the Green Phantom."

"Seriously?" asked Toby. "Someone's been reading too many comic books."

The lights in the elevator flickered. "I heard that, Mr. Quinn-Curtis."

"How?" Walter asked. The only microphones in the elevator were… those that served as Ariel's ears. "Oh."

"I promise, I will not harm the bubble-girl's machine, or her connection to it."

"I appreciate that," Ada replied quietly. "Less so the nickname."

"Meet me on the deck of the four PM Sausalito Ferry in two days."

"Really? It couldn't be anything more local?" Toby asked.

"No." Then the elevator started moving again.

"You still there?" Toby asked. There was no response. The elevator arrived at the main floor.

"Ada, were there any noticeable signs of your connection being hacked?" Walter asked as they exited the elevator.

"No."

And there was no way to personally check her computer to confirm that, since it was in the bubble. "I guess we're heading to San Francisco, then."

"Say what?" Cabe and Sylvester approached them. "What the hell took you so long?"

"The elevator was hacked," said Happy. "By some creep who calls himself the Green Phantom."

"Really?" Cabe made a face. "Gotta love the digital age. We spend as much time going up against deranged super-nerds as we do against guys with guns and bombs."

"So why San Francisco?" Sylvester asked.

"He asked that we meet him on the Sausalito ferry."

Now Sylvester made a face. "Great, another boat. Those always go so well."

"What are the odds he's going to show up in a mask and cape?" Cabe asked.

"Not all that low," said Toby. "I can't wait to analyze this guy."

Paige pulled out her phone. "I guess I'm booking us a flight."

"I can't go," said Happy.

"What?" asked Toby. She gave him a look, and he slapped his hand over his face. "Oh, crap, your father."

"Oh, right, Patrick's parole is starting," said Cabe.

Happy smiled at the words. "Finally. I can't wait for him to meet Maria." She had refused to take Maria to the prison.

Toby looked torn. "I guess… um… I guess I should also stay."

"No, you go. They're going to need you for this one."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Doc. Go." She turned to Cecilia. "So, where's this favorite spot of yours?"

Cecilia and Ariel exchanged a glance, although the knowing smile only covered Cecilia's face. "Follow me."

She led them out of the building and to the farthest corner of campus, where they entered an older building. Skillfully navigating a maze of hallways, she stopped at a large, red freight elevator, pressing the down button. This time, they could all fit in the elevator, and there were no incidents. When the doors opened again, they found themselves in a large, dark room.

"A bit out of the way for a dining hall," said Cabe.

"This is no dining hall," said Cecilia. "Welcome to the garage."

"The what?" Walter stared at her as she flipped a light switch, illuminating the room. They were, indeed, in a large garage. A few vehicles were parked inside, their hoods up and their engines in various states of repair. On the far side of the room was a large refrigerator, and a microwave sat on one of the three tables scattered around it.

"The garage," said Cecilia, gesturing around her. "Back when this was the biochem building, supplies were brought in through here. Now, they let us bring whatever we want in here."

"Basically, it's the perfect hangout for a bunch of dorky engineers," said Ada.

"I fully concur," said Happy. She trotted over to the nearest vehicle and peered at the engine. "Did you make all these modifications?"

"The group did, yeah."

Happy ran over to the next vehicle.

"I think you've created Happy heaven," Toby muttered. Ada laughed.

"I thought we were going to your favorite dinner spot," said Cabe.

Cecilia smiled. "Oh, just wait for it." She started crossing the garage, and the others followed.

"Whose is the punching bag?" Toby asked as they passed a punching bag that had been chained to the high ceiling.

"That was Jake's. He graduated last year, but we left it up in his honor." Cecilia trotted the rest of the way to the refrigerator and opened it.

"Are we doing leftovers for a celebratory dinner?" Cabe asked, frowning.

"Nope." Cecilia pulled out a large bowl full of something yellow. "Authentic Peruvian food, made by my abuela. I guarantee you it's better than anything they sell on this campus."

"Um, okay," Cabe replied skeptically.

Cecilia opened a cupboard on the far side of the refrigerator and started pulling out plates and forks. Toby and Sylvester went to help.

"I should text Ralph," said Paige. "He's never going to be able to find this place."

"Tell him to go around to the back of the building," said Ada. "We'll open one of the freight doors for him."

Once Walter had a plate of the yellow stuff and a fork, he sat down at one of the tables and tried some, then almost choked. "That's… um… spicy. Very spicy."

Cecilia quirked an eyebrow. "Can't handle it?"

"I… um… I prefer fish."

Cecilia opened the refrigerator again and pulled out a bottle of water, tossing it to him. He failed to catch it.

"I need some water, too, please," said Cabe.

"Me, too," said Paige.

"Okay, maybe this was not a great plan," Cecilia conceded, pulling out several bottles of water and giving them to everyone.

Walter took a large sip of water and let his mouth soak in it, trying to get the water to absorb the heat, but water was not optimal for that.

More laughter came from Ariel, who was standing off to the side and watching them.

Paige's phone buzzed, and she looked at it. "Ralph is here."

"I'll let him in," said Ada. Ariel turned and made for the nearest freight door.

"Um, hello?" They could all hear Ralph's confusion when Ariel opened the door.

"Hello, Ralph," Ada replied. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, he brought his date along," said Toby, earning himself another look from Paige.

Ariel reappeared with Ralph and Zoe in tow. "Whoa," said Ralph, looking around. Just as Happy had, he walked over to the nearest vehicle and peered at the engine. "I think I'm going to like college after all."

"This place is pretty cool," said Zoe. She walked over to the punching bag and looked at it for a moment. Then, abruptly, she unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks in a fast and well-practiced routine.

"Not bad," said Cabe as everyone stared at her.

Turning back towards them, Zoe walked over to Cecilia. "Hi, I'm Zoe."

They shook hands. "Cecilia. Pleased to meet you."

"And I'm Ralph." Ralph also approached and shook her hand.

"How old are you?"

"'Fifteen."

"He's really smart," Zoe explained.

"I see. Have you ever put together a car engine?"

"I've put together a rocket engine."

Cecilia smiled, and glanced at Ariel. "You're going to fit right in here."

Walter looked over at Paige, expecting her to look happy. She… didn't.

Zoe walked over to Walter and peered at his plate. "So, is this how geniuses celebrate an awesome speech? What is this, anyway?"

"It's all yours, if you want it." Walter passed the plate to her.

Zoe tried some. "Not bad. A little on the spicy side."

"There we go," said Cecilia. "See, us girls understand what food is supposed to taste like. You and I are going to be friends."

"She doesn't go here," said Toby. "Sorry to burst the—"

"Don't finish that saying," said Ada.

Toby quickly shut his mouth.

"Where do you go?" Cecilia asked.

"Berkeley. I'm heading up there tomorrow."

"Oh. So just about everyone is heading to the bay area tomorrow."

"Huh?" Zoe looked at the others in confusion.

"The elevator we were in earlier was hacked by some creep who calls himself the Green Phantom," Cecilia explained. "He wants Walter to meet him on the ferry up there."

"Really?" Zoe turned to Walter. "Count me in."

"What?"

"Those ferries are always crowded. You could use an extra pair of eyes. And I'm heading up there tomorrow anyway." Zoe started to turn back to the food, then looked up again. "Oh, and I won't take no for an answer."

"We are definitely going to be friends," said Cecilia.

"And the rest of us can listen in and help out via the comms," said Ada.

"Comms?" Cecilia looked at Ariel. "That sounds like a great idea."

The members of Team Scorpion exchanged glances.

"Basically," said Ralph, "you're going to need more comms."


	13. Ghosts and Phantoms

**A/N: Hey all. Here's the next chapter. For those of you who understand computer viruses better than I do, I apologize for the convenient liberties I've taken. Again, this is _Scorpion_.**

 **Enjoy! And to any Jews among my awesome readers, happy Rosh Hashanah.**

 **Disclaimer: CBS owns _Scorpion_. And this chapter contains one line of a song by Simon & Garfunkel.**

 **Chapter 13: Ghosts and Phantoms**

"Everyone ready to go?" Paige came running into the office.

"Got the extra comms?" Sylvester asked.

"Yup."

"Yay, so we get to have some college kids talking in our ears as we do this," said Toby.

"Call it a learning experience," said Sylvester.

"Ralph has helped us out many times before," Walter pointed out. "And Ada saved us last year. That said, I do recognize that it might be inefficient to have so many different sources of ideas on the same problems. Especially younger and less experienced sources."

"Either inefficient, or innovative," said Cabe. "You might be about to learn a lesson I learned years ago."

"That wasn't because we were young," said Toby. "It was because we were geniuses."

"Who said I was talking about you?"

"Come on, guys, let's not miss our flight," said Paige, heading for the door again.

Walter quickly placed his laptop in his bag and threw it over his shoulder. Sylvester held the door open as Cabe and Toby filed out behind Paige. Walter reached the door and shut the lights.

"Walter?" There it was again. Megan's voice. Walter turned the lights back on and looked around. Nothing.

He looked at Sylvester. "Did you hear that?"

The answer was obvious, as Sylvester had paled. He gave the smallest of nods.

Walter looked around once more, then shut the lights. "Come on." Sylvester quickly followed him out, shutting the door hard behind him.

* * *

The line for the ferry was long, much to the team's consternation. There was a light rain falling, one of those that was just light enough to make you feel a little ridiculous holding an umbrella, but just heavy enough to chill the skin and soak through the clothing.

Paige and Sylvester had both brought umbrellas along, and held them over the team as they stood in line. Walter looked up at Paige's pink umbrella as she held it between them. It wasn't his favorite color, but it felt worth it for how close she was standing to keep them both covered.

Zoe, for her part, had no interest in being covered, and seemed to enjoy the feel of the raindrops falling on her.

"Aren't you cold?" Paige asked her.

She shrugged. "Feeling cold is just a reminder that you're alive."

"Well, that's… deep," said Toby.

"It's not gonna be worth it if you get pneumonia," said Sylvester. "And your father wouldn't be happy about that."

Zoe looked at him over her shoulder. "If I get pneumonia in August, right before the semester starts, I'll pay you 200 dollars."

"What?"

"It's not going to happen."

"I've gotten pneumonia in the summer before," said Toby. "Granted, that was in the middle of a streak of fantastically bad luck. Actually, that was the least expensive manifestation of that bad luck during that summer."

Walter rolled his eyes. "Luck is—"

"I know, Walt." Toby held up his hand. "I know." He looked back at Zoe. "It might not be too long before you get tired of hanging out with geniuses."

Zoe shrugged. "I like it. You guys are… easy to trust. I'm not the most trusting person."

"That's not uncommon among people who have… been through what you've been through."

"I know."

"But you seem to be handling it much better than other victims that I've seen."

"It's been over four years."

"I've seen victims who've borne deep scars ten and twenty years down the road."

"Who says I don't have scars?" She turned and faced him, small drops of water falling from her face. "But I've learned to take care of myself."

"From what you showed us yesterday, it looks like you've taken many martial arts classes," said Walter.

"I have."

"Um, guys, the line is running away," said Sylvester. Zoe turned again and quickly caught up to the people in front of them, and the others followed.

They climbed aboard the ferry, then put in their comms and spread out.

"Okay, our phantom has already shown a preference for the color green," said Toby. "And the rain gives him the perfect excuse to stay covered and keep a low profile. I would start by looking for a green raincoat."

"I have a green raincoat," said Sylvester.

"Yes, but I'm going to guess you didn't go and hack the elevator as you and Cabe were taking the stairs. Right, Cabe?"

"Right." Cabe's tone indicated that he had gone into agent mode, and was barely paying attention to the banter on the comms. "We've got at least four green raincoats on the top deck."

"I would look for a darker shade of green," said Toby. "More of an incognito color."

"Not necessarily," said an unknown voice.

"Who's there?" Cabe demanded.

"My name's Tyler. I'm at the garage with Cecilia and the others."

"Ralph, how many are there at the garage with you?" Paige asked.

"There are five of us so far. Cecilia says that more might be coming."

"Great," Walter muttered. Definitely inefficient.

"But we only left you with two comms," said Paige.

"Ada has linked hers to Ariel, so we can all hear what's happening."

"Guys, this isn't a party game," said Toby.

"We know," said the voice that belonged to Tyler. "Anyway, as I was saying, Cecilia said that this guy calls himself the Green Phantom, which suggests that he's a comic book fan. The costumes in comic books tend to be more garishly-colored, unlike their live action counterparts. If this guy is a true fan, he might cloak himself in similarly garish colors. So, I would look for a brighter shade of green, but with the hood pulled in close around his face."

"I'm sorry, you're an engineering nerd?" Toby asked.

"Yeah, but I also study psychology, as more of a hobby. And I'm a comic book fan."

"I see."

Walter wasn't sure whether to follow Toby's advice or this guy Tyler's.

"Sly, you're a comic book nerd," said Paige. "What do you think?"

"Um…" Walter didn't have to see Sylvester to know that he was fidgeting as Paige put him on the spot. "Well… sorry Toby."

Walter started looking for brighter shades of green. He tried not to be too conspicuous as he examined people, but he got some strange looks.

By the time they were almost to Sausalito, there was still no indication of who the Green Phantom was. Then Walter noticed a weight in his pocket for the first time. Reaching into it, he felt a USB drive. He definitely hadn't put it there himself. "Um, guys? Someone put a USB drive in my pocket."

"Oh, so this was that kind of covert meeting," said Toby.

"That makes sense," said Tyler. "He didn't want his secret identity being revealed."

Walter quickly looked around, but there weren't any green raincoats around him. He felt decidedly uncomfortable with the fact that someone had gotten so close to him without him noticing.

They got off the ferry at Sausalito. "Be careful with that USB drive," said Ralph. "The phantom might have placed a virus on it."

Walter had just been thinking that himself. "I know. We need a way to check it before placing it in any of our computers."

"I have a better idea," said Zoe. She was on her phone, typing a code into an app from her father's company. "Why don't we just ask the dude himself?" The app shifted to a map of the immediate area, showing a red dot moving rapidly up the road away from them.

"'Is that a tracker?" Paige asked.

"Guy in a bright green raincoat, creepily watching Walter for a while before he approached. Had to be him." Zoe pulled her other hand out of her pocket, showing them a couple of Elia tracking devices. "I couldn't resist."

"So, it was bright green," said Tyler victoriously. Toby rolled his eyes. "Also, you've got a nice voice."

"Thank you," Zoe replied. She didn't give the smile that Walter typically would have associated with a response to such a compliment.

Walter, for his part, was now particularly bothered by the fact that he hadn't noticed the phantom, if the phantom had been watching him before approaching.

They waited until the tracking device stopped moving, and then Paige got a large uber for the same location. It took them to a modest house in a suburban neighborhood. They went up to it and knocked on the door.

The man who answered the door reminded Walter a little bit of Sylvester when he had grown a thick beard on the island, but he was significantly shorter. He stared up at them with wide eyes.

"Hi," said Toby. "You left something on the ferry." He gestured to the USB drive that Walter was holding.

The man's gaze slowly fell to the USB drive, and then back up to their faces.

Toby tried again. "We're Team Scorpion. And who might you be?"

"Peter Roberts," said Zoe, showing them her phone again.

"Please don't call me that," the man said immediately.

"Ooh, my condolences," said Toby. "They must have never let you live that down in junior high."

"What do you mean?" Walter asked.

"Peter Rabbit was a character in an old series of children's books," said Toby. "My guess is that nickname followed you around through early high school at least."

The man grimaced. "Please go away."

"Hey, you're the one who hacked our elevator. You literally asked us to come up here."

"This isn't what I had in mind."

"Yes, but we're a team of geniuses. You should have expected it. Now, what's on the USB drive?"

The man sighed. "Fine, come in. But, please, call me the Green Phantom."

"How about Phantom, for short?"

"Fine."

The interior of the house was… very messy. And the air was stale. Walter frowned, remembering the sights and scents from the apartments of people that he had associated with back in his early 20's, before Scorpion.

As Zoe retrieved her tracking device from the bright green raincoat hanging on the wall, Phantom led them to a desktop computer with an oversized monitor. Activating it, he opened a file. "You've probably noticed an increase in the frequency of random computer glitches lately. Nothing with any kind of pattern, but still a notable change."

"Yes, we have," said Sylvester.

"Well, they're not a coincidence. And the source is a man that you're very familiar with: Mark Collins."

Walter suddenly felt very cold, and he shivered. Once again, the image of Mark's bloody face flashed before his eyes, with his fists slamming into it over and over again. "Mark Collins is dead."

"Yes, but he left behind a ghost." Phantom pulled up Mark's Homeland file, with the words 'Threat Terminated' printed across it. Walter felt the need to look away from the words. "He hid a virus within his digital file in the department's database. As soon as they marked him as terminated, the virus was unleashed. It's been roaming the internet ever since."

Walter felt a heavy weight settle on his gut.

"So far, it hasn't caused any major damage anywhere. But it's the most intricately coded virus I've ever seen. Who knows what it is designed to do?"

"Can't it be eradicated?" Cabe asked.

"That would be difficult," said Walter. "Most of what people think of as computer viruses aren't actually viruses. Actual viruses are self-replicating, making them nearly impossible to permanently eradicate. You can wipe one out on a particular machine, but it's always hiding somewhere."

"Great," Cabe muttered. "I'll call Agent Johnson." He pulled out his phone.

"Please don't let her know who I am," Phantom pleaded.

Cabe shot him a look, but didn't verbally reply.

"Ralph, did you hear everything?" Walter asked.

"Yup. I'm writing a program to track the movement of the virus."

"Oh, this is kid is cool," said Tyler.

"Good." Walter shook his head, trying to clear the image of Mark's bloody face from his mind. It wouldn't go away.

Ada spoke up. "Hey, while you guys are there, can you ask him to apologize for hacking my connection? And make him promise that he won't do it again."

"Ada wants you to apologize for hacking her," said Paige.

"Who's Ada?" Phantom asked. "Oh, is that the bubble-girl?"

"Hey!" Ada yelled.

"Please don't call her that," said Paige. "You hate being called certain nicknames yourself."

Phantom frowned. "That's true." He looked back at his computer. "I'm sorry for hacking her. Her presence in the elevator, such as it was, was too convenient not to make use of."

"Seriously?" asked Paige. "You didn't think twice about 'making use' of her one connection to the outside world?"

Phantom held up his hands. "I wasn't cutting her off, I was just piggy-backing for a moment."

"Still, think about her situation. That connection is extremely important to her, and you can't just take advantage of it like that."

"You know, you really are the scariest member of the team."

"I want you to promise her that you're not going to do it again."

"Alright, okay, I promise."

"Thanks, Paige," said Ada. "Yeah, Dad, everything's fine." David must have heard her yell and come to see what was going on.

"Alright, we'll let you know as soon as we're back in LA," Cabe said into his phone. "Thank you, Ma'am." He hung up and put away the phone, then turned back to the others. "Are we all done here?"

"I've got a few other questions I'd like to ask him," said Tyler.

"Yeah, we're done," said Toby.

Walter removed his comm. Listening to the teenagers' voices was just making the guilt rise higher.

"Thank you for your help," said Sylvester.

"You're welcome," Phantom replied. "Please don't let anyone know who I am."

"We won't."

They left the house, and Paige called another uber. Walter watched her for a moment, feeling like he needed to talk to her. He was clearly having an issue.

However, she removed her comm and spoke to Sylvester. "Sly, are you alright?" Walter raised his eyebrows, and looked over at Sylvester. He didn't look… unusual.

Sylvester sighed and removed his own comm. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just… I'm having kind of a 'There but for the grace of God go I' moment. And I'm not even religious."

"You're nothing like Phantom."

"I used to be." Sylvester turned to Walter. "Walter, thank you for saving me from that life."

"Um… you're welcome." Walter didn't feel like anyone should be thanking him for anything right now.

Toby and Cabe also removed their comms, and Zoe spoke into hers. "Hey, everyone, thanks for your help." She listened for a moment, then removed her comm as well.

"Right," said Paige. "Good thinking."

The uber arrived, and they returned to the airport, then walked over to where Zoe would catch the BART to Berkeley.

"Walter, can I talk to you?" she asked.

"Sure."

"We'll be waiting by security," said Paige. "Thank you for your help today."

"You're welcome," Zoe replied. She held up her comm. "I'm keeping this, by the way. I'm sure there will be other opportunities to help you out."

"That's fine," said Walter. Paige had just bought several more.

The others left, and Zoe turned to him. "I saw your face earlier, after Phantom told us what was going on."

His stomach twisted. "What about it?"

"You still feel guilty about what happened to Collins. And that's totally understandable. Walter, you did something bad, really bad, but…"

"That's unhelpful."

She held up a hand. "Give me a sec. I don't have as much practice with this as Paige does. Look, Walter, the world still needs you. You can't save it if you keep beating yourself up."

"You're right." He needed to turn his emotions off, but that wasn't as simple as it used to be.

"Once this is over, you can feel as guilty about it as you need to. But Collins still needs to be stopped one more time, even if he is already… dead."

Walter nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Have a safe flight home."

"Thanks. Good luck at school." Walter turned and followed the others to security, and found Paige waiting about halfway there.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I will be."

* * *

It was late at night by the time they got back to the office. Ralph had already completed and launched the program he had written, and Walter quickly returned to his desk to check the code.

As he did so, he recalled hearing Megan's voice earlier, and went over to Sylvester when he was done. "You know, I'm guessing that Collins's virus can make dormant computers make certain noises, such as…" He trailed off. Sylvester would know what he was referring to.

Sylvester nodded. "Yeah, and that's exactly the kind of thing that Collins would have programmed it to do." He glared at his computer. "I can't wait until we're rid of him, once and for all."

Walter felt the guilt land another punch on him, and he gave a quick nod before returning to his desk. This really wasn't going to be so easy. Not for him.

"Hey, we should all get some sleep," said Paige. "I'm guessing Ralph's program is going to take some time to locate everywhere that the virus has infected?"

"Yes."

"Then we'll head over there and check in with him in the morning." She approached Walter's desk. "Walk out with me."

He looked up at her for a moment, then nodded.

She didn't say anything until they were outside. "I know that you're going to be okay, Walter."

He looked at her, wondering if she was continuing the conversation from the airport in San Francisco. "I said I would be. But… I'm realizing that it's not going to be so easy."

"You're feeling guilty all over again about what happened."

"Yes. And I need to… I need to block it out. I can't do what I need to do if I'm… emotionally compromised."

"Walter…" She stopped walking and turned to him, and he mirrored her. "You're not emotionally compromised, you're human. We do bad things, and then we feel guilty. In your case, it's something you're going to feel guilty about for the rest of your life. But that doesn't make you compromised."

"It does if it hurts my performance."

"Then use it to improve your performance. Don't block out your emotions, Walter. Channel them into doing what needs to be done to fix this."

"If I were to stop blocking all of my emotions, that would most certainly cause a distraction."

She looked up at him, and didn't say anything.

"And the emotion that I'm referring to can't be… channeled into this."

"Right," she said quietly, looking away from him. She turned and started walking again.

He followed her only with his eyes for a moment. "Paige…"

She stopped and turned back to him. "I know, Walter. And… you know."

He nodded. "I know." He started walking again, falling into step beside her. They walked in silence until they reached her car. "Have a good night."

"Thanks, you too." She looked at him for another moment before opening the door and getting inside.

He watched as she drove away, and decided that the conversation had yielded a much nicer thought to focus on than anything relating to Collins… at least until they had to get back to work tomorrow.

* * *

"I don't understand what this virus is supposed to do," said Ralph. Walter looked over his shoulder. So far, the virus was just causing nuisances for people. But there was so much code.

"What are you looking at?" Walter looked up to see Toby looking at Tyler, who was looking back at him.

"Your hat," Tyler replied. "It's like I'm on the set of a movie that takes place in the 60's."

Laughter erupted from Ariel.

"Alright," said Paige, shutting the door of the refrigerator. "Now you have some actual food in your refrigerator. Fruits and vegetables never hurt anyone, you know."

"Thanks, Miss Dineen," said Cecilia. "And we know, but they aren't cheap."

"Just remember that they're perishable." Paige sat down on the other side of Ralph, and Walter glanced at her over the boy's head. She looked back.

Cecilia took one of the pears that Paige had just stored in the refrigerator and came up behind them. "How's it coming, Fifteen?"

Paige raised her eyebrows. "Fifteen?"

"Until we come up with a better nickname for him."

"I don't mind it," said Ralph. "I've got a comprehensive list of everywhere the virus had hit as of last night. Now I can write a program to target all of those locations and eliminate its effects."

"Genius."

"I know."

"So, what's your nickname?" Toby asked Tyler.

"B-ball."

Toby raised his eyebrows. "You don't find that a little heavy on the stereotyping?"

Tyler shrugged. "No, I'm good at basketball. In my neighborhood, that was what you did. It was the only safe way for most people to make a life for themselves. I just got lucky that God gave me this brain."

Toby's face changed. He seemed to dislike Tyler a lot less after that.

"And hey, it could be worse. If you were part of this crew, you'd probably be the Mad Hatter."

Cecilia laughed. "That's a good idea." Walking over to one of the other tables, she sat down in front of her own computer. She opened it, and immediately, music started blasting out.

" _Cecilia, you're breaking my heart!"_

She quickly shut the laptop again and stood. "What the hell? I hate that song!"

"That has to be the virus," said Walter. "I'll get rid of it." Getting up, he walked over to where she had been sitting. He opened her computer and immediately pressed the mute button.

"Wait a minute, that doesn't make sense," said Toby. "How would the virus know—"

He was cut off by a loud knock on the nearest freight door. "Who is it?" Cecilia snapped. "Not that you can hear me." She walked over and opened the door, revealing Cabe and Agent Johnson on the other side.

"Good morning." The two agents stepped into the garage, removing their sunglasses.

"Crap," Tyler muttered, rising from his seat.

"Relax, Mr. Mitchell," said Agent Johnson. "You haven't done anything wrong. At least, nothing that falls on our radar." She pulled out her badge. "I'm Agent Johnson, with the Department of Homeland Security."

"Last time I met an Agent Johnson, he was looking to arrest my uncle. For nothing."

Agent Johnson ignored the comment. "Walter, where are we with tracking this virus?"

"It's tracked. Although at least one new target has just popped up."

"And I'm sure there will be more by the end of the day. How long before we can start cleaning up the mess?"

"I'm working as fast as I can," Ralph replied.

Agent Johnson looked over, surprised by who the response came from. "Alright. Now then, you, you, and you." She pointed at Cecilia, then at Tyler, and then at the other boy who was present. He was only a little taller than Ralph was, and hadn't said a word the whole time they had been there. "And, um…" She turned to Ariel, and gave a small frown.

"Hi," said Ada. "Me too, I suppose?"

"That's Ada," said Cabe. "I told you about her."

"Right. Yes, you too." Agent Johnson looked at all of them. "I want you all to understand that this is now a Department of Homeland Security operation. And we prefer to do things quietly."

"Of course you do," said Tyler.

"And we can't have that being a problem, Mr. Mitchell." She turned to the other boy. "Who are you?" She glanced over her shoulder at Cabe.

Cabe shrugged and shook his head. "He didn't say anything yesterday. I didn't know he was here."

"That's Mouse," said Cecilia. "He's very shy."

Cabe walked over to him. "What's your name, son?" he asked gently.

The boy looked at him for another moment before replying. "Michael."

"Do you understand what we're saying here?"

"Yes. It's all a secret."

Cabe turned to Agent Johnson, who nodded, satisfied. She turned back to Tyler. "Are we going to have a problem, Mr. Mitchell?"

"No, Ma'am."

"Good. Now, I understand you're all engineers…"

Walter's attention was drawn from the conversation as Toby sat down beside him. "Something isn't making sense," he said quietly. "How could the virus know that Cecilia is… a new connection, I guess?"

"It can't," Walter replied.

"So, it just happened to start playing that song on the computer of this particular Cecilia while we just happened to be here? That's one hell of a coincidence, Walt."

"It has to be. Viruses can react to stimuli, but not this sort of stimulus. They can't keep track of people that we're meeting offline, and react like that. Collins must have just programmed the virus to play the song on computers belonging to users named Cecilia." It sounded absurd even as he said it aloud.

"You did hear yourself say that just now, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did." But there was no other explanation.

"What if it can access the cameras?" Toby asked.

"Even if it could, it would have no way to process what it was seeing. There is no way for it to understand any connections that we didn't have before Collins died. Or, more specifically, before he programmed the virus."

"Okay. I'm just going to say again, it is one hell of a coincidence."


	14. Laughs, Cries, and Screams

**A/N: Hey all. Sorry for the long gap between chapters, but I decided not to post such a depressing chapter as the hurricane was bearing down. People had enough to worry about this weekend. I hope that all my readers that were in the vicinity of Florence managed to stay safe and relatively dry.**

 **On a less serious note, I really hope that whoever named the storm was a _Scorpion_ fan. What an aptly named hurricane for this year.**

 **Getting back to serious notes:**

 **WARNING: This chapter contains references to, and evidence of, child abuse.**

 **Disclaimer: CBS owns _Scorpion_.**

 **Chapter 14: Laughs, Cries, and Screams**

"Ralph's code is working like a charm," said Walter. "All of the computers that the virus had targeted as of two nights ago are clean."

"Great," said Sylvester. "Now we just need to do it all over again for the computers hit since."

"Well, Ralph has to be present in his classes, so you boys are going to have to take over," said Paige.

"'Not a problem," said Walter, already getting to work. "Sly, do you want to take—"

"Yup, I got it."

"Excellent."

"Okay, well…" Paige turned back to her own desk, which was conspicuously empty. Then she turned around again as Sylvester's phone began buzzing.

Sylvester glanced at the caller ID and frowned for a moment, then answered. "Hello? Dyfrost, since when do you… Our office? Um, sure… Well… What?"

Walter and Paige exchanged a glance.

"Um, okay… Yeah… See you soon." Sylvester hung up his phone and frowned at it for a moment before setting it down. "We're about to have some visitors."

"From the Warlock's Chest?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

"Oh, I'll let them explain when they get here." From the look on Sylvester's face and the fact that it was Dyfrost who had called, Walter had a feeling this was going to be something rather absurd.

"Maybe I should have gone with Toby and Happy today," Paige muttered.

"To spend time with Patrick?" asked Walter. "I'm not sure your presence would have been fully appreciated."

"Well, I have a feeling you're going to have to translate these guys for me, rather than the other way around."

"She means you, Sly."

"Yeah, I know."

They arrived in costume, of course. Dyfrost was flanked by his cousin, the Lady Susan whom they had met at the airport back in the spring, and Kaldor. They saluted Sylvester as he bid them enter.

"Most honorable knights of Team Scorpion, the Warlock's Chest is in need of your aid," said Dyfrost.

"What happened?" Walter asked.

"Well, at the suggestion of my dear cousin, we undertook to enter the digital realm created to mirror our beloved game, Fantasies and Frolics. While at first it was difficult to adapt our respective abilities to the challenges presented, we persisted and, to a degree, prevailed in the challenges created by the benign lords of the realm. Now, however, a dark threat has befallen the realm, and it is not one created by the lords. Things are… being changed."

Walter frowned. "Sly?"

"They're playing an online version of Fantasies and Frolics—against my recommendation, I might add—and the internal code of the game is being changed."

"Their online game is being hacked? From what I've heard, that is not uncommon."

"Yes, but hackers typically endeavor to create optimal situations for their own characters and allies, in order to achieve optimal rewards. This is an attack, not meant to cheat on anyone's behalf, but merely to ruin people's experiences."

"And they have caused most egregious damage," said Dyfrost. "Where once there were twelve swords of the scion, there are now thirteen."

"It is a most ominous number," Kaldor added, "that bodes of ill fortune for the many who would quest for weapons of such great prestige."

Walter sighed. "Sylvester…"

"It shouldn't be that difficult to fix. And if it is the virus causing the damage, that's one more target cleansed. Ralph's program doesn't account for online games."

"To me, that seems like a good thing," said Paige. "That means he wasn't thinking about games as he was writing it."

"It's not a good thing for the players of those games." Sylvester turned back to Walter. "I say we contact the developers and help out."

"The lords of the realm are most far away. You will have to travel far to consort with them."

"No need," said Walter. "We can use your copies of the game to fix the code and fortify it against further incursions from the virus, and then upload it to the developers." The developers would have previous versions of the game from before the virus struck, but those would be just as vulnerable to incursions.

"We most heartily thank you, honest knight."

Sylvester saluted them. "We will arrive at the Warlock's Chest within the hour."

They returned the salute and departed. Several seconds later, Cabe walked in. "Well, that was a close one."

"Were you hiding from them?" Paige asked.

"Well, I just happened to see them in the doorway as I was coming in, and… I decided it would be best if they didn't see me on their way out. You know how those conversations tend to take longer than they should."

"So, you were hiding."

Cabe's face fell.

"And here I thought you were just setting a new record for the longest coffee run ever," said Walter.

"Kovelsky's was a zoo this morning. If that place keeps getting more popular, we're going to have to find a new spot."

"Yeah, we know that's never actually going to happen," said Paige.

"So, what's on the docket?" Cabe asked.

"We're about to head over to the Warlock's Chest," said Walter. "And you're coming. You can bring the coffee that it took you over an hour to purchase."

"Really?"

"Yes." Walter looked at Paige. "Are you coming?"

"She gets to decide?" Cabe asked.

"She has been here all morning, and is putting in her salaried time efficiently."

"Her desk is empty."

"He's got a point," Paige said to Walter. "I really don't have anything to do today. So, to put in my salaried time, as you put it, I'll come along on the job. Not that I have any idea how I could possibly help on this one."

* * *

"Sir Magnus, I am most pleased to see you again," said Lady Susan, curtseying as the team entered the Warlock's Chest.

"Likewise, my lady," Cabe replied offhandedly as he looked around. "This place looks different."

"Yeah, it's computers instead of the actual game," said Sylvester. "See, this is why I advised against switching to the online game. There is far less direct interaction involved when everything is online."

"Really?" Paige looked at him. "I'm impressed with your reasoning."

"Well, the change has had its merits and its demerits," said Dyfrost.

"Show me the code for the game," said Walter. It would be better to do this as quickly as possible. He didn't want to spend much time here.

Dyfrost and Kaldor exchanged a glance. "And… how might we accomplish that?"

Walter sighed. "Just let me see the game."

"Most certainly." Dyfrost led him over to one of the computers, opening the game.

"No, you don't need to log in," said Walter. "Here, let me…" He took over the keyboard and opened the code for the game. It was substantial. "Great." The size wasn't so much the issue as the fact that he didn't know what the code had originally looked like, so he wouldn't be able to identify the changes. "I'm going to assume that none of you ever examined the code prior to the changes?"

"We were previously unaware that we even could."

"Alright. You're going to have to log in and travel to the locations of the changes in the game. Then I can identify the corresponding code and fix it."

"Very well. The time of our great quest is at hand. Will you be joining us, noble Sir Magnus?"

Sylvester glanced at Cabe. "The larger the party, the easier this will be."

"Fine," Cabe muttered. "What do I do?"

"Paige?" Sylvester asked.

She glanced at him. "Are you serious?"

"You would surely be helpful to our cause, fair dame." Kaldor bowed low.

"Fine."

"Then construct your avatars and join us in the realm," said Dyfrost, directing them to two of the computers in the room.

"The internet bill for this place must have skyrocketed since you brought these computers in," Sylvester muttered.

Dyfrost showed Cabe how to get started. "I believe you would fare best as an orc. They are physically strong and have a high weapon proficiency."

Cabe glanced at him. "Alright." He looked at the statistics of the creature Dyfrost had indicated. "Poor healing? That's some weakness."

"Do not fear, Sir Magnus," said Lady Susan. "I am most skilled in the natural healing arts of the Druids of the Wandering Wood. I will keep you from falling at the hands of our foes."

"I can just be a human, right?" Paige asked.

"You could," Kaldor replied, "but you may find their skills rather… average. Perhaps you would prefer a humanoid fae. They look just like humans, but are more proficient in the magical arts."

"I will be fine with just a human," said Paige.

"Very well."

Once Cabe and Paige had created their characters, Dyfrost spoke again. "Welcome, friends, to the town of Greenhome. It is here that our great quest will begin. First, however, you will need to purchase some weapons. Follow me yonder." Walter waited until he spoke again. "Here is a shop where you will be able to buy basic weapons. With the few coins you begin with, you will be able to buy items such as a basic sword, or a basic bow with twenty arrows."

"Twenty isn't a lot," said Cabe. "I suppose I'll start with the sword."

"I would rather not use a weapon," said Paige.

Dyfrost and Kaldor glanced at her. "Um, not even a slingshot?"

"Perhaps the healing staff would be more suitable for her," Sylvester suggested.

"But we already have a healer. If we want to prevail in our quest as promptly as possible—"

"Guys, let her buy a staff."

Walter understood Dyfrost's argument for the most efficient means of completing the task at hand, but he also understood Paige not wanting to fight.

"Thanks, Sly," said Paige.

Several seconds later, Dyfrost spoke again. "Now, brave adventurers, our quest begins."

Walter glanced over at Paige's screen and saw their characters leave the town along a dirt road flanked by cartoonish representations of farms. Other characters could be seen dashing to and fro.

"There's quite the crowd by that farm over there," said Cabe.

"Most curious," Kaldor replied. "Farmer Tenlor asks beginning travelers for help retrieving honeycombs, and pays well for it. It is a popular quest for those looking to acquire as many coins as possible at the dawn of their time in the realm. However, it is unusual for there to be quite such a crowd at his farm."

"What is that thing?" Cabe asked.

"By the Winds of Wildermere," Dyfrost muttered. "It appears the farm is beset by… some manner of wasp demon."

"I take it that's not supposed to be there?" Walter asked.

"It is most certainly not. And it is hideous. The artwork looks highly out of place in the game."

"It's coming towards us," said Paige.

"Adventurers, prepare for battle!"

"Walter, you better hurry and clean up this code," said Sylvester. "I have a feeling this fight isn't going to go well."

Walter earnestly examined the code for the region of the game that they were in.

"Lady Susan, I thought you would be keeping my health up," said Cabe.

"I am trying, Sir Magnus," Lady Susan replied. "It would help if you didn't get hit every time it attacked."

Walter frowned as he examined the code, seeing his own name. This was definitely Mark's doing. Deleting everything within the errant section of the code, including the creature, he looked up. "Alright, it's done. Get away from that thing, and it'll be gone once the developers get this code."

"Retreat!" Dyfrost ordered. The characters ran away from the monster. "Alright, onward to the next anomaly!"

"Our new allies will need better weapons and armor," said Kaldor.

"We will see what we can find."

* * *

"We are nearing the caves of the scion," said Dyfrost, "but I fear for our ability to reach the swords."

"Reinforcements are on the way, cousin," said Lady Susan, glancing at her phone, which lay beside her keyboard.

"That is most relieving news," said Kaldor. "Our current party is…" He trailed off, glancing at Cabe and Paige.

"Insufficiently experienced?" Paige offered. Walter smirked at her sardonic use of the big words.

"Yes." Kaldor quickly accepted her kind phrasing.

"How many times are you allowed to die in this game?" Cabe muttered. "Is there really no limit?"

"Of course," Dyfrost replied. "It would be a very brief game for many if they could only die a limited number of times."

"Not exactly realistic. And it certainly doesn't teach you survival skills."

"Well, it is unpleasant to die, even when you can do it as many times as you like."

Noises were heard upstairs. "Ah, I believe that will be our reinforcements." Lady Susan smiled and went to the stairs, glancing at who was approaching. "Brother, you have arrived at last."

"I apologize, Sister. The professor delayed the conclusion of the class to take questions from the commoners."

"Mouse?" Sylvester asked. Walter followed his gaze and watched as the shy boy whom Cecilia had referred to as Mouse entered the room.

"May I present my youngest cousin," said Dyfrost, "Sir Macklan the Mighty."

"You're Sir Macklan?" Sylvester asked. "I have heard tell of you. I had no idea you were so… young."

The boy whom Walter didn't know whether to think of as Mouse, Michael, or Sir Macklan nodded towards Sylvester. "It is good to see you again." He sounded far more confident in this environment than he had in the garage on campus.

Lady Susan turned to Paige. "Would you mind terribly if my brother were to take command of that computer?"

"Not at all," Paige replied, quickly stepping away from the computer. Michael walked over and logged her out, then logged in to his own account.

Paige walked over to Walter. "Well, that was something different," she said quietly.

He glanced at her, caught off guard by how automatically she had walked over to his side.

"Let's never do this again," she added, her voice dropping even lower.

"Hopefully, we won't have to," he replied, just as quietly.

The others waited for Michael to join them in the game. "That's a big axe," Cabe commented.

"It is named after him," Lady Susan said proudly. "He prevailed in a tournament."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you, Sir Magnus," Michael replied. Walter wondered if he had known when Cabe had first addressed him as a Homeland agent.

"Now our troubles should be greatly diminished," said Dyfrost. "Onward, adventurers!"

* * *

"It doesn't make sense," Walter mused as he sat in the back of Paige's car on the way back to the office. "Dyfrost said that they didn't start playing the online version of Fantasies and Frolics until after Lady Susan arrived, which was back in the spring. There's no way that Mark could have known about it before he…"

"I agree," said Sylvester. "He couldn't have targeted the game to spite us."

"And yet my name was in the code. It was targeted. Just like how Cecilia's computer started playing the song while we were there, even though Mark could never have known about her."

"You said it was just a coincidence," said Paige.

"The combined probabilities are far too low for it to just be a coincidence," said Sylvester.

"Which means that the virus is being manually updated," said Walter. "But, by who?"

"It has to be by someone who knows us very well," said Sylvester, "and knows who we're friends with."

"And is following us very closely," Walter added.

"I'll call Agent Johnson as soon as we get back to the office," said Cabe. "If the threat is an actual person, and not just a computer virus, Homeland needs to know about it."

When they arrived, however, Paige checked her phone for the messages she had missed while she was driving. "Guys, I have a text from Ralph. He says he's discovered something about the virus."

"It might be the same thing that we just discovered," said Walter, "but we should go see."

* * *

Walter looked up as Michael entered the garage. He didn't know whether he should say something, or if the other students knew about Michael's interactions at the Warlock's Chest. The boy might prefer to keep quiet about it, the way Sylvester sometimes did. Deciding not to say anything, Walter looked back at Ralph's screen.

"It's obvious that there are periodic manual updates to the code," said Ralph. "That's why it's become more difficult to track the next round of attacks."

"So, someone is making changes?" Cecilia asked. She looked at Walter. "I thought you said that Mark Collins is dead."

"He is." Walter felt a fresh round of guilt land in his gut.

"So then someone else must be updating the virus," said Ada. "Who else would—" She suddenly fell silent, and Ariel stilled.

"Ada?" Cecilia asked.

"Walter O'Brien."

The voice came from Ariel, but Walter immediately knew that it wasn't Ada speaking. He stood.

Ariel approached him. "Walter O'Brien."

"What?"

"Say my name."

Walter raised his eyebrows.

Ariel didn't stop until it was standing directly in front of him. "Say the name of the man that you killed."

A chill fell over the room, and Walter felt everyone's eyes on him. He didn't dare look at any of the students.

"Say it."

"Mark Collins."

Several seconds of silence followed as the air began to feel more and more dense around his skin. Then Ariel spoke again. "Hello? Can you guys hear me?" That was Ada again.

"Ada?" asked Ralph.

"Yeah. I was completely cut off that time. That wasn't fun." Ariel looked around. "What happened?"

Walter finally dared to look at her other peers in the room. They were staring at him with horrified looks.

"You killed him?" Cecilia asked.

"Not intentionally. It was… It was an accident. I…"

"What happened?"

"I… I lost control. I thought he had killed…" He looked at Paige, who was watching Cecilia and the others.

"You lost control?" Cecilia's face transformed. "You killed someone, and you claim that it was an accident, because you lost…" She trailed off, looking away from him. "You typical man."

Cabe raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"You men using your emotions as excuses. You hurt people and just claim that you lost control of your emotions."

"That's what happened," said Walter. "I thought he had killed the woman that I love."

"You're pathetic. You're just another small man who couldn't hold his temper. Just like my father." She lifted up her shirt and showed her stomach, and Walter stared. "He also claimed that he was just losing control." There were several small, circular scars that, when she was younger and smaller, would have matched cigarette butts. Elsewhere on her skin, there were longer, jagged scars.

"My god," Cabe breathed.

"He's in prison now, where he belongs. That's where you should be."

Walter couldn't stop staring at the scars. His insides felt like they were now pure ice.

She lowered her shirt and turned away from him, and Ariel immediately went to her.

Walter didn't feel like he could move. Cabe walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't touch me," he said immediately.

"I think you should go," said Tyler, also walking over to Cecilia.

"I think he's right," Sylvester said quietly, glancing at Paige. She nodded.

"Come," Cabe said quietly. Walter turned and followed him and the others out of the garage, his legs moving slowly on automatic.

"Walter, wait." Walter stopped and turned, and saw Ralph running after him. "I'll try to talk to her. You're nothing like her father."

Walter felt his insides thaw a little, but he wasn't sure that Ralph was correct.

Ralph walked right up to him and lowered his voice. "Also, I don't know if you realized it, but you also just said that you love my mom. You should probably address that with her."

* * *

Paige called Toby, and he and Happy came to the office. Walter felt bad about their time with Patrick being cut short, but he knew why Paige had called. Toby entered and immediately walked over to Walter. "Listen, O'Brien. You're nothing like that horrible man who did that to his daughter. And she's going to come around and see that."

"I appreciate that, Toby." Walter was determined not to think about it anymore, at least while they had a more immediate problem to face. "We need to figure out who is updating the virus."

"No, we're going to talk about this."

"No, we aren't. We are facing a threat to national security, and we are going to deal with it, like we always do. We're not getting sidetracked by distractions anymore."

Toby looked defiant for a moment, then turned and walked over to Paige. Walter watched as they conferred quietly.

"I'm going over to Lancaster," Happy announced. "I'll speak privately with Ada and see what she can do about fixing this mess on Cecilia's end."

Toby looked over. "That's a good idea, love."

Walter frowned. They were not focusing on the threat at hand. But Happy's skills weren't suited to finding out who was updating the virus, so he let her go.

Toby and Paige conferred for another minute, and then Toby walked back over to Walter's desk. "So, who hates us enough to be updating Collins's virus to target us?"

"Anna," Walter immediately replied, recalling his recurring nightmares.

"She's in prison, Walt. And she's a chemist, not a hacker. This couldn't be her."

"Then who?" Walter felt his frustration start to boil over, and decided it was best if he wasn't around them right now. "I'm going outside for a minute." He carefully avoided looking at any of them as he stood and crossed the room to the door.

Once outside, he breathed in as much of the fresh air as he could at once, trying to silence his emotions. Walking to the nearest street corner, he looked around. Who could be targeting them like this? Who could track them so efficiently without revealing themselves? Were they watching right now?

"Walter?"

He turned as Paige approached. "What?" The word came out a little too harshly, but he didn't feel like that was wholly inappropriate. He had come out here to get away from them.

She frowned a little at his tone, and stopped. "We're just trying to help. You know that."

"Well, you're not helping me figure out who's doing this. And that's what we need to do right now."

"You're right. But you also need to address what just happened with Cecilia. You're—"

"No, I don't." He turned away from her again, looking around at the people who were walking to and fro, proceeding with their daily lives. Who was their assailant?

"I know you, Walter. You can't just turn off your emotions like you used to. The longer you try to keep this below the surface, the more it's going to bother you."

He turned back to her, and found that she had taken a couple steps closer to him. "Paige, we are dealing with a hacker that's in control of a virus that can go anywhere on the internet, and do anything to just about any computer. That is the only thing that is bothering me right now."

"What happened to being completely honest with each other?"

The question silenced his thoughts. They had agreed to that as a condition of restoring the team.

"You're not being completely honest with me, are you, Walter? Or you're not being completely honest with yourself."

"I can't afford to think about it right now."

"Then talk to me about it. Talk to me about it so it's not going to eat you from the inside later."

"Paige, I…" He looked away from her. "I can't."

"You're nothing like Cecilia's father."

Walter didn't look back at her. "I did the same thing. I lost control of my emotions and did something terrible."

"That man hurt his own daughter. Repeatedly. He wasn't just losing control of his emotions, he was sick. You are not him. You did something terrible once, and it was because of…" She trailed off.

Now he looked back at her. She was looking down, a tear threatening to fall from her eye. "Because I love you."

"Don't say it like that."

"But that's why it happened. I attacked Mark because I thought he had killed you. If I didn't love you, he would still be alive."

She looked up at him again, revealing tears in both eyes. "That's not fair to either of us."

"But it's the truth. And I can't…" He looked away again. "It's best if I'm not around you right now." Turning, he started walking away. A vocal part of him wanted her to follow, but he didn't dare to look back.

He kept his gaze forward until he reached the far end of the next block. Then, finally, he allowed himself to look back. She was still standing exactly where he had left her, watching him.

He looked at her for another moment, then started walking again.

* * *

In the end, he had circled back to his car, without ever going back into the office. It was best if he didn't see any of them at the moment. Going home, he entered his studio and sat in silence, fighting his emotions. Saying what he had said to Paige had proven to be extremely painful for him as well, but it was the truth. His emotions, and particularly his love for her, had proven to be a lethal hazard.

He couldn't be around them anymore. He cared too much about all of them. It was a hard truth to accept, given everything that they had been through. But he wasn't who he used to be. He had done something terrible, something he could never forgive himself for. It was something he couldn't allow to happen again, no matter what.

He spent the rest of the day searching fruitlessly for a way to identify the person who was updating the virus. It wasn't until his stomach started growling so insistently that he couldn't hear himself think that he allowed himself to eat. And it wasn't until his brain grew hopelessly foggy that he closed his laptop and lay down.

Sleep, however, provided no reprieve. Anna was there, and everyone else was dead. Paige's lifeless eyes were staring right at him, and one arm lay outstretched towards his foot, which was just beyond her reach. He stepped away from her, and turned his gaze to the other bodies in the empty, red terrain. Toby and Happy were holding each other, even in death. Cabe was holding his sunglasses in his hand, an expression of disappointment forever frozen on his face. Sylvester was holding a picture of Megan. Ralph was turned away from him. Walter circled around to try to see the boy's face, but whichever way he went, Ralph's back remained towards him.

"Walter?" He turned back to the picture of Megan. It didn't move. Beyond Sylvester's body, Anna was now kneeling over another corpse, one that she hadn't killed. Mark. The body was covered in blood, and Walter looked down and saw that same blood on his hands once again.

"Do you understand now?" Anna stood and turned towards him, her cheeks stained from tears. "Do you understand how it feels to lose everything? You took everything from me, but at that same moment, you took everything from yourself."

Her hands were clean, and she wasn't holding any weapon like she had in some of the earlier nightmares. Walter looked down at his own hands, and understood that it wasn't just Mark's blood on them. He had killed all of them.

"You're a monster, Walter. You're a killer." She circled around until she was standing in front of Paige's body, looking down at it sadly. "Every moment you're around them, you're a threat. Don't do to anyone else what you did to me." She looked up at him. "Please."

"I won't," he assured her. He felt a splash on his leg as blood dripped from his hand. "I promise, I won't hurt anyone else."

Abruptly, Anna transformed into Cecilia. "You can't control it. You can't keep your emotions in check."

"I will. I'll do whatever I have to."

"Will you really? Can you really walk away from them?"

"Can you really walk away from us?" Walter looked down to see that Paige's body was now alive. "Don't walk away. You love me too much."

In unison, his fallen teammates stood around him. Only Mark remained dead.

"I have to. I do love you. Too much." He stepped back from her, and as he did so, the color returned to her face. She was safer if he was further away. Everyone was safer.

Tears slipped from her eyes before her eyelids closed to seal them in. "Do what you have to, Walter."

"I'm holding you to it," said Cecilia. She and Anna were both standing there now, their eyes demanding that he continue walking away. Turning, he began to run, and the red in the terrain faded.

He woke up. His legs felt a little tired, as if he really had been running. He looked around until his gaze fell on his laptop, but he didn't move just yet. His subconscious promise lingered in his mind. He had to leave.

But this case still needed to be solved. It would be most efficient to continue working with Sylvester and Ralph to solve it, wouldn't it?

No. No one was safe when he was around them. He had to keep his promise.

Phantom. That was the answer. Phantom had first brought the virus to their attention, and had proven his proficiency as a hacker. Phantom could help him figure out who was updating the virus, and he would be well away from anyone that he cared about.

Getting out of bed, he quickly washed up and began packing. He was surprised when he saw the clock. He had slept very late. But then, he had gone to sleep very late.

He was just about done when there was a sharp knock on the door. He waited, hoping that whoever it was would just go way. The person knocked a second time. Walter continued to wait.

There was silence for a little while, and Walter returned his attention to the packing. Then there was a third, more insistent knock. Sighing, Walter went to the door and opened it.

"Stop hiding," said Sylvester. He was standing with his hands on his hips.

"Go away."

"Not a chance." Sylvester pushed past him into the studio. That was the second time he had pushed Walter, and Walter decided that this time was far more rational than the first. "Stop hiding and come to work."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm dangerous."

Sylvester raised his eyebrows and looked Walter up and down. "Really?"

"I lost control of my emotions, and look what happened. That can't happen again. Everyone is safer if I'm not around all of you."

Sylvester's face fell. Walter knew that he would understand. It was painful, but it was the truth. "You're a coward."

What? "Excuse me?"

"You're a coward, Walter. Are you really so afraid of your own emotions now that you're going to run away from all of us. And I thought it was pathetic that you were hiding from coming back to work."

"Sylvester, I killed someone." He managed to catch himself before saying it too loudly, knowing that walls in the building were a little thin.

"You killed Collins. And it wasn't intentional. You're not using that as an excuse to run away. If you think I'm just going to let you leave, you really don't know me at all. Especially after everything we went through to bring this team back together."

"It's not up to you." Walter turned and zipped his suitcase, knocking aside a shirt that hadn't fully made it in yet.

"I'm not leaving here until you come back to work. No more running, no more hiding. We're going to beat this hacker and then face whatever comes next together."

Walter spun back around, his frustrations boiling out. "You're one to talk about hiding. How long have you been hiding behind the memory of my sister?"

A shadow of anger fell across Sylvester's face, but only for a moment. "That's neither here nor there. And you are a small man for bringing that up now."

"Get the hell out of my apartment. You'll understand, Sylvester. You're safer if I'm not around. The whole team is."

Sylvester shook his head. "No, you're going to understand how big a mistake this is."

"It isn't. I promised…"

"Who did you promise?"

Walter shook his head, not wanting to talk about the nightmare. "I have to keep you all safe. Whatever it takes."

Sylvester sighed. "We're not finished. But you're clearly not thinking rationally right now." Turning, he left the apartment, and Walter went to shut the door. Before he did so, Sylvester looked back at him. "I want you to try to understand how disappointed I am with you right now. I know that will be hard for you."


	15. The Rabbit Hole

**A/N: Hey all. Here's the penultimate chapter, and the longest one yet. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: CBS owns _Scorpion_.**

 **Chapter 15: The Rabbit Hole**

It was the perfect sunset. All of the clouds were in just the right place, and their purple and orange tinges crossed the sky above the glistening ocean. The water itself was supremely peaceful, its surface undisturbed by the gentle breeze that kissed Walter's skin. And it was blissfully silent, as though he were sitting inside a photograph.

That was the thing about nature: It was always there, always beautiful, and always quiet, in its particular way. Even the chattiest army of crickets or the loudest clap of thunder couldn't disturb the consciousness the way that an emergency siren or a sputtering lawnmower could. Nature, even when it didn't seem calm at all, still carried an inherent calmness simply for being what it was: natural. Even when Walter didn't have the patience to enjoy it, which was often, he never failed to admire it.

And the other great thing about nature was that there never any risk of it admiring him back. Nature was mercifully nonchalant, and never gripped by the raging storms of emotion that brought out the best and worst of humanity. Even the most stoic people could never match the perfect apathy of nature. It would never love him nor hate him, never yell at him, never laugh nor cry because of his actions. It would just always be there.

Tonight, nature was on its best behavior. As the golden light faded from the sky, giving way to the pale indigo of the early evening, he shut his eyes and slowly breathed in the air. He breathed as gently as he could, unwilling to spoil the perfect vision that he was sitting inside in any way.

Then the noise of an engine cut across the breeze, and he winced. He looked over as the truck passed, the driver unaware of the moment that she was ruining. A short trail of black fumes rose from the back of the truck to dissipate in the air above, leaving behind its foul stench and problematic carbon molecules.

Once the truck was gone from sight and earshot, Walter sighed and tried to forget about its intrusive existence, but two cars were now coming from the opposite direction. Frowning, he gave up and stood, turning to his own car, which waited silently on the side of the road.

Technology was calling to him again, and the identity of the unknown hacker still loomed as a large shadow over his attempts at peaceful thoughts. This last mystery still had to be solved, and the damage cleansed.

Then what?

Walking over to his car, he placed his fingers on the hood. He had used technology to create the structure for his entire life. With a keyboard beneath his hands, the ones and zeros that were the building blocks of modern society became an extension of his own nervous system. He could manipulate them any way he wanted to, do anything at all. He was a man without limitations.

And the man he had once been had thrived on that fact. He had been a man without strings, without attachments. He had poured his desires out into cyberspace, plucking whatever he wanted from it. Scorpion had given him a cause, but he had never felt truly bound to it until that day that he met a boy playing chess with condiments in a diner.

And then everything changed. Over the subsequent years, a new man arose within, struggling with and slowly overwhelming his former self. Occasionally, Walter had felt that he wasn't either of the two men, and that he was observing the internal conflict from outside, from a ringside seat on the very edge of his expansive mind. Other times, he had been both of them at once, with conflicting impulses crashing into each other as he stared into the eyes of the woman that he was falling in love with.

Finally, on the night of Toby and Happy's wedding, the new man stood victorious. He was a man that knew love, that understood and accepted his emotions, that was willing to reach out and touch other humans, and be touched in return. His former self was left in the shadows, only being called upon in moments that required compassion to be cast aside in order to most efficiently solve a crisis. The arrangement remained stable even as new and horrific emotions like heartbreak and anger were discovered, because he liked whom he had become. Even through the sadness of the previous summer, he still appreciated his newfound ability to understand and accept the emotions that affected him.

But the new man had proven to be dangerous. Lethally dangerous. He felt too much emotion, and it had exploded outward, taking Mark's life and destroying Anna's.

So, the new man had to be subdued, cast into the recesses where his former self had sat quietly. And Walter believed that, as long as he stayed away from the people that the new man had come to care so deeply about, the new man would sit just as quietly as the old one had.

But maybe technology wouldn't provide the full answer, like it had for his old self. Maybe he wouldn't build his whole life just out of cyberspace like he once had. He turned and looked out at the ocean again. Perhaps nature would help, providing a quiet and safe place where the new man could awaken and feel all of his emotions again, well away from anyone that he might hurt.

But first…

Getting back into his car, he turned on the engine and listened to it hum for a moment. He could make it to Sausalito if he drove late into the night. But perhaps he would stop somewhere for the night, and continue on in the morning. He didn't feel as eager to reach Phantom's house as he had earlier. He needed some time to savor his newfound freedom, to enjoy the distance that he had put between himself and anything that would cause him to feel pain or rage.

Pain and rage. He hadn't thought about the sounds of those two words until now, and the sound that they made when they were squashed together.

Deciding, he drove only as far as Monterey, and stopped at a small, mid-budget hotel. The interior of the lobby was a deep blue color, like the sea at night, and the patterns on the mahogany desk hinted at waves. There was a clear theme here.

"Welcome," said the elderly woman behind the desk, giving him a kind smile.

"Hi. Do you have any rooms available?"

"We certainly do."

He handed her his credit card, then looked around. There was a black-and-white picture on the wall of a man in a naval uniform. Beside it was an even older picture, also featuring a man in uniform.

"My husband's from a long line of sailors. Now he's in the navy, along with our two older sons."

Walter nodded and looked back at her as she returned the card and the key to the room. "Not all of your sons joined?"

"No, my youngest is the rebel in the family. You'll find him right in there, working at the bar." She nodded towards a large doorway in the side of the lobby, through which a restaurant could be seen. "To be honest, I'm hardly beat up about it. He's out of danger."

Walter peered into the restaurant. He should probably eat something. "Do they have seafood in there?"

"Well of course. Uniforms or no uniforms, the sea is still our home."

Walter entered the restaurant. There weren't any free tables, but there was space at the bar. Leaning his suitcase against one of the stools, he sat down.

The young man behind the bar looked like his mother. He was talking to a woman a couple of seats away, and seemed much more interested in the conversation than she did.

"Um, excuse me."

He looked up, frowning at the interruption, then made his way over. "Can I help you?"

"Could I have some fermented fish, please?"

"Ferme… For real?"

"Yes."

"How about I get you a menu and you order something off of it?"

"Okay." The man walked away, and Walter turned to the woman. "I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation."

"Don't worry about it. He wasn't getting what he wanted, anyway. A little young for my taste."

The man came back with the menu and a look of frustration, and Walter could tell that he had heard the woman's words. He had a feeling the woman had intentionally spoken loudly enough for him to hear. After depositing the menu in front of Walter, he walked over to the far end of the bar, speaking with some other patrons.

"I'm Katie," said the woman.

"Walter."

"Pleased to meet you."

"You too." Walter looked down at the menu, not extremely keen to talk to the woman. The fact that her dark hair was reminding him of Paige wasn't helping matters.

"You look like you're on a much-needed vacation from something, or someone. Perhaps permanently?"

He looked back at her. "What makes you say that?"

"Your minimalist responses and immediate show of disinterest. That suggests that you're either a taken man, and an honorable one at that, or you're recently single, and the wound is still fresh. But your demeanor tells me that you're leaving something behind." She gave a small shrug. "But, it takes one to know one, I guess."

Her left thumb absently rubbed the base of her ring finger, and Walter noticed a tan line there. "You're recently divorced?"

"Yes." She lifted her drink to take a sip.

"He cheated on you?"

She raised her eyebrows, and put the drink back down. Then her eyebrows lowered again. "It was the emphasis on the word 'honorable' before, I guess."

"Yes. It suggested that you've previously interacted with men that weren't honorable."

She gave a small laugh. "Previously interacted? Yeah, you could put it that way."

Walter looked back down at the menu again, quickly scanning his options.

"But you look more beat up than I do. She must have hurt you really badly."

He looked beat up? "No, she didn't."

The woman didn't say anything for a moment, but he could feel her watching him. "I understand. Sometimes it's no one's fault. Things just don't fall into place the right way."

No, she most certainly did not understand. Walter made his decision and looked back over at the bartender, who was remaining at the far end of the bar.

"Well, take it from someone who's taken more than one trip down the wrong aisle: Things get better. If I've learned one thing, it's that love is as malleable as any other emotion, regardless of what those poets and teen-girl romance writers out there want to tell you. Anyone can fall in love more than once, and the next person could just be waiting around the next corner."

Walter didn't find her philosophy appealing. As keen as he was to avoid any emotions at the moment, he still wanted to believe in true love. The fact that he had destroyed his own chance at it didn't mean it couldn't exist for everyone else.

Perhaps the old him hadn't retaken control after all.

The bartender was still standing at the far end of the bar. "Excuse me," Walter called. The man looked at him, looking annoyed, and Walter waved the menu. Reluctantly, the man walked over, and Walter tersely placed his order.

"He certainly holds a grudge, doesn't he?" said Katie after the bartender had walked away again.

Walter didn't think he would enjoy working in a bar at a hotel run by his mother. Perhaps he could understand the man's frustration.

"So, what do you do?"

"I… I fix computer issues."

"Really?"

"What about you?"

"I suppose you could say I create computer issues."

He looked at her again. "You're a hacker?"

"No." She gave another small laugh. "I design software."

"I see." He looked down at the bar for a moment, then back at her. "Hey, has your software been affected at all by a virus that's been going around this summer, striking at random?"

She shook her head. "No. But there are plenty of viruses out there to worry about."

"There's been one particularly sophisticated one this summer."

She shrugged. "I haven't heard anything about it."

He nodded, looking down again. He hadn't met her until just now, so there was no reason why she should be targeted. And apparently she wasn't one of the random victims that Ralph had found.

He quickly looked around for any cameras, not seeing any. And his phone was deep in his pocket, and shouldn't be able to pick up the conversation. There wasn't any way for the mystery hacker to find out about this conversation, so Katie would be safe.

"Well, I should probably call it a night. My son's asleep upstairs."

"You have a son?"

"Yes. The only good thing to come out of either of my marriages, except perhaps a few life lessons." She stood and walked over to him, then gently reached for his arm. He immediately pulled away. "Listen, Walter, I know a fellow bruised soul when I see one. Take this." She placed a torn piece of paper in his hand, and Walter saw a phone number on it. "Give me a call if you want to talk. Or anything. It was great to meet you."

She left the restaurant, and Walter looked down at the phone number. He spun the paper in his fingers for a moment, then placed it in his pocket.

* * *

He stood where he had been sitting earlier, watching the sunset again. Now, however, it was frozen in the sky at its most beautiful moment, every bit the photograph that it had seemed for a few lovely seconds in reality.

She stood a little ways in front of him, and he couldn't see her face. "Hey," he called.

She turned. It was Paige. The hair really was very similar. "Hi, Walter."

"Uh… hi."

She gave a small smile and walked over to him. As she approached, her clothes transformed from the ones that Katie had been wearing earlier into the black dress that his subconsciousness clearly loved. "It's okay, you don't have to worry about it. You thought about another woman for all of a few minutes. It happens to everyone."

"I… um… There were a few things about her that reminded me of you."

"Well, I would hope so. I think a lot of the people you meet are going to remind you of me in some way. We've spent so much time together that there's quite a lot for you to remember and associate with me."

"Yeah. It's going to be difficult."

"It will get easier." She placed her hand just above his elbow, then slowly ran it upward towards his shoulder. "I miss you."

He allowed the contact, enjoying the feel of her hand on his skin. "I miss you, too."

"I know why you had to leave." Her hand climbed up to his neck, her thumb reaching his jawbone. "It's okay."

He shut his eyes, feeling the heat pulse from her hand. His cheek tingled as her thumb moved slowly and gently across it. He sensed her move closer still, her breath reaching the front of his neck.

"I'm always going to love you," she said quietly, kissing his chin, just below his mouth.

"I'm always going to love you, too." He looked away from her. The frozen sunset was getting brighter. Then it began moving backwards, climbing back into the sky.

He woke up, and looked towards the window. The indigo twilight was fleeing across the sea as the sun chased it away.

Getting out of bed, he entered the small bathroom and looked in the mirror. It had only been a dream, but his cheek still tingled from the feel of her touch.

He shut his eyes, realizing that even though they hadn't gotten back together, this separation was going to be more difficult than the previous one. This time, it had been unilaterally his own decision. The fatal error had been his alone. There wasn't anything for him to get angry about, nothing for him to try to construe against her in order to forgive his own transgressions. Neither she nor anyone else had any fault here. Only he did.

But if he kept reminding himself of why he had to leave, he would be fine.

* * *

Phantom's house felt larger when it was just him approaching than it had when he was with the team. Perhaps it was the vastness of the house compared to his small studio, or perhaps it was just the lack of allies by his side as he entered this next stage of the pursuit of the mystery hacker.

He knocked on the door, and Phantom answered. "Walter? What are you doing here?"

"Hi." Walter hesitated. He wasn't sure how much to explain all at once. "I think you can help me."

"You have other people to help you. Where is the rest of Scorpion?"

"In LA."

Phantom looked at him with raised eyebrows for a moment. "Come in." He stepped aside to allow Walter to enter.

The inside still smelled as stale as it had the last time, and the place was still messy. Walter immediately decided that he would stay only for as long as was necessary to track down the hacker.

There was an old couch on the side of the room behind Phantom's desk chair, and Walter sat down on it unbidden. He looked around for a moment, once again taking a trip down memory lane to the unpleasant destinations of his early twenties.

"You seem a little off," said Phantom, sitting in his chair. "If you don't mind me saying so."

"I do mind it, but you already said it."

"Why did you come alone?"

Walter sighed. "I'd rather not get into that immediately. Are you still following Collins's virus?"

"Uh, not as diligently as I was before I told you about it. It felt like I had done my part."

"It's being updated. Manually. We need to find out who's doing that."

Phantom made a face. "You need my help with that?"

"Do you have better things to do?"

"No, I don't." He swiveled towards his computer and began typing.

Walter covered his face with his hands, willing the memories of life before Scorpion to leave him alone. It would be easier if the smell weren't so strong. "Do you ever open a window in here?"

"If it's too hot. I think it's fine right now."

He must have grown immune to the odor and stuffiness that were assaulting Walter's senses.

"I'm running a program to highlight all the variations in the code, so we can see what they might tell us." Phantom swiveled back to Walter. "In the meantime, maybe you can tell me what's going on."

"I told you what's going on."

"I mean with you. You're clearly messed up right now, man."

"I said I don't want to get into that right now."

"Alright." Phantom fell silent. Walter expected him to swivel back towards his computer, but instead he stared off into space.

Walter waited, thinking that he was looking for something else to say. Eventually, Phantom gave a small laugh. "What?"

"Huh?" Phantom looked back at him. "Oh, nothing. A lot goes on in my head." He casually gestured towards his head and then swiveled back towards his computer.

Walter raised his eyebrows, then looked around. "Where's the bathroom?"

Phantom pointed. "Down the hall on the left."

Walter got up and entered the hallway, looking around. There was a kitchen on the right, and he stepped inside it, finding the air more breathable. He leaned against the wall, shutting his eyes and sucking in as much air at once as he could.

This was a bad idea. He had expected Phantom to be more diligent about tracking the virus, but apparently Phantom had thought that his only role was to bring the virus to Scorpion's attention. And now Walter was waiting here, in this smelly, stuffy house that was probably the house that Phantom grew up in.

However, Phantom was clearly an accomplished hacker, and he could help Walter track down the assailant more efficiently than anyone other than Ralph.

Walter opened his eyes again and looked around, not eager to return to the other room. It was a fairly spacious kitchen, with lighter décor and a much more hospitable atmosphere. He went over to the window. Four young boys were playing soccer in the next yard over.

He watched them for a moment. It all felt extremely suburban, a neighborhood for families where children could grow up away from the perils of the city. It was the kind of neighborhood that parents moved into when their children were young and then departed when those children had moved on to their own lives.

Where were Phantom's parents?

One of the children kicked a goal and cheered, then turned to his friends. Walter felt a sharp pang of jealousy, and flashed back to sitting at his computer and looking out his window between projects, watching as his peers took part in athletic competitions. At the time, he had primarily felt disdain for it, as he had no interest in athletics. Now, however, he understood that such games among friends were more about being with those friends than about the athletics involved.

And, of course, now he had friends to miss spending time with.

He didn't know how long he spent standing at the window there, but eventually he became aware that Phantom was leaning against the wall behind him, his arms crossed. Walter turned to him, ready to apologize for trespassing in the kitchen, but Phantom didn't say anything about it.

"Ada told me what happened."

"You communicated with her?"

Phantom nodded. "It's easy. She's always close to her computer. I didn't tell her you were here, only that I was aware you had left your team behind in LA."

"And she told you everything?" Walter was a little annoyed. His friends should be able to keep his secrets.

"I told her I could help you, and that I wouldn't tell anyone. I won't, by the way."

Still, Walter was bothered that Ada had been so quick to trust Phantom. Then again, so had Walter.

"It sucks, doesn't it?" Phantom looked away from him, his gaze falling to the floor. "Sometimes we find out we're the villains of our own stories."

Walter wasn't sure what he meant by that.

"I mean sure, sometimes we get to be the hero, but… Often it turns out we're the bad guy."

Walter didn't want to think of himself as the bad guy, but now he realized that he was. He was the killer. He was the one who had ruined Scorpion, and not just this time. Every time Scorpion had fallen apart, it had been his own fault.

"I guess that's just the role we're supposed to play. We're the ones who never learned how to properly interact with others. We were so busy trying to make ourselves smarter than everyone else that we missed the most important lessons along the way. We're the ones who trapped ourselves in the dark corners on the outskirts of society, unable to make inroads or contribute outside of our personalized niches. Whenever we try to help out in ways we're not prepared to, we do more harm than good."

Walter had a feeling Phantom was mostly talking about himself, as those observations didn't seem to line up wish his situation except in the most abstract of ways.

"And when we get so far out of our comfort zones, that's when things go really wrong. That's when more than just sensibilities are in danger."

Okay, that part might have been more pertinent. Emotions had always been outside of Walter's comfort zone, and when they had built up too much in his mind…

"I… um…" Phantom finally emerged from his musings and looked back up at him. "You're welcome to stay here if you want to."

Walter was surprised by the offer, and immediately thought to decline. But it didn't seem like all of the rooms in the house were as unpleasant as the one that Phantom had made his lair, and this way he would be close at hand to work with Phantom on tracking the mystery hacker. "I appreciate that." But, wait… "Where are your parents?"

"Traveling. They almost always are. They're businesspeople." He said the term with some disdain.

"Alright. I'll stay for as long as it takes to track down whomever is updating the virus."

Phantom nodded. "There's a guest room upstairs. Well, it's my sister's room, but she hasn't been home in years."

* * *

From the upstairs window, Walter could see several houses overlooking several different yards. Each one was home to a different family, and part of Walter's mind seemed to fixate on imagining what each one might look like.

During his relationship with Paige, he had begun to think of himself, her and Ralph as a family, but he had never really envisioned family life with them beyond the previews of it that he got from spending time with them during that year. He had never envisioned them living in a house like those he was looking at now. He had never been one to entertain such conventional dreams.

For a moment, however, he allowed himself to think about it. He envisioned Ralph visiting from college, walking through the front door and greeting his mother and his young half-sibling. He would carry his things up to the room that he sometimes occupied and then return, sitting in the living room and entertaining the baby.

Walter shook away the vision. It was never going to happen. It couldn't.

Turning away from the window, he looked at his laptop, which sat open on the desk that had once been occupied by a young girl named Olivia. Olivia was now a married woman living in Chicago, but once upon a time she had clearly had a fondness for pale-pink and flowers, and for lining her mirror with pictures of what had once been a happy family.

She hadn't been home in over two years, and scarcely kept in touch with her brother or her travel-happy parents. When Walter asked what had caused the estrangement, Phantom had shrugged. They had never been good at communicating from the beginning, so the distance and lack of communication had been a perfectly natural development.

The conversation had made Walter want to contact his parents for the first time in a long time, but that probably wasn't a good idea. Megan had always been the one to keep the lines of communication open within the family.

Sighing, he sat down in front of the laptop and focused on what was on the screen. Line after line of code crossed his vision, and none of it was helping him identify who the hacker was or where they were hiding.

It had to be an enemy that Scorpion had made. But they had thwarted so many plots over the years, it was impossible to keep track of everyone. Most of those that they had defeated were in prison. Who wasn't?

He became aware of a knocking at the door, and turned. "What?"

Phantom opened the door. "Do you ever get hungry?"

Walter glanced at the clock and realized how long he had been up here. He hadn't thought about food. "Yeah."

"Good. Cause, you know, everyone has to eat eventually. I get like that too, sometimes. I'll get so into solving a mystery that I'll forget about meals until it feels like my stomach is trying to tear itself out of my body."

Walter winced. "That's unpleasant."

Phantom glanced over Walter's head at the pictures on the mirror, and his face fell a bit. "I'll be downstairs." He disappeared from the doorway.

Walter glanced back at the screen, then stood. He should eat something. Going downstairs, he found Phantom in the kitchen. "So where are your parents travelling, anyway?"

Phantom shrugged. "I don't keep track of it anymore. Haven't for a long time."

Walter opened the refrigerator and found it sparsely stocked. He frowned.

"There are frozen meals in the freezer. That's mostly what I make do with."

Walter raised his eyebrows, then closed the fridge and opened the freezer.

It wasn't until he was sitting down with a microwaved something-or-other that he looked at Phantom again. The younger man was leaning against the counter, staring off into space. "You do that a lot, don't you?"

"Huh?" Phantom looked up.

"You frequently get lost in your thoughts."

Phantom shrugged. "Like I said, a lot goes on in there."

"Do you ever talk about it with anyone?"

"No one ever asks."

Walter found the response surprising. He was used to being with people who were naturally quiet, and they always seemed perfectly content that way. Phantom seemed… sad about it.

Maybe it was the absoluteness of the isolation. Walter had always had people that he could consider to be friends, even if it had taken him a very long time to fully appreciate what it meant to have friends. On the rare occasions where communication felt necessary, there had always been someone to communicate with. Phantom, however, seemed totally alone.

"So, what were you thinking about just now?"

"My parents. Since you asked about them."

"What about them?"

Phantom sighed. He had wanted to talk, but clearly wasn't used to volunteering information. "When I was little, I had a friend who was on the spectrum. Well, I don't know if he was a friend, but… I knew him. I remember being so jealous of all the attention he received from his parents." His shoulders shook as he gave a small laugh. "He probably communicates better than I do now-a-days."

"You're very hard on yourself about communication."

Phantom shook his head. "I've accepted who I am, but that doesn't mean I don't recognize what I could have been if…" He shrugged for the umpteenth time. "…things had gone differently."

"What you could have been?"

"If I had had friends. If I hadn't been trapped as Peter Rabbit through half my adolescence. I would have learned how to actually communicate with people, you know? I would have been invited to parties, made the same mistakes that everyone else was making, learned the same lessons about how to connect with people."

Walter didn't think it was that simple. Some people were naturally non-communicative, himself included.

"You know, for a long time I tried to convince myself that I was proud of it. That I was proud to be alone, and could feel like I was above everyone who avoided or teased me. I even embraced the nickname. I called that place the rabbit hole for a little while." He nodded towards the room that he had made his lair.

Walter blanched. "That doesn't sound healthy."

"It wasn't. I would have been better off scrambling to make friends anywhere I could, with whatever other rejects were out there."

"Have you tried to find others like you in the bay area?" It sounded like Phantom was desperately in needed of an environment with like-minded individuals, not unlike Scorpion or the Warlock's Chest.

"You do know what the bay area is famous for, right? Most of the region is full of nerds, and that makes even them impossible to talk to. They all have their own cliques already."

Walter sighed. He knew a defeatist attitude when he saw one. "Alright. I think maybe you should keep trying. But first, let's track down this hacker."

* * *

Three days later, Walter sat on the bed that had once belonged to Olivia, staring at his laptop screen. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stay here. Phantom seemed perfectly content with the company, but it was increasingly causing Walter's mind to go off on all sorts of strange tangents. At least, he hoped it was being here with Phantom that was causing that.

He had thought it would be easier to concentrate when he was away from the others. He didn't have to worry about them, and shouldn't have to think about them as much. But his mind seemed more restless than ever, and every time he saw an old picture or heard a child laugh outside, it went spinning away from the present and into thoughts of the past or future.

He needed to find this hacker and then leave. But he had no idea how to do that.

Abruptly, his screen went black, and then words appeared. "I'm disappointed, Walter."

Walter frowned at the words. He was being toyed with, but it probably wasn't undeserved. "Who are you?" he typed back.

"So disappointed… The old you would have figured it out months ago."

Months ago? He had only known about the virus for a week. How could he have figured it out… Megan's voice? That had been the only indication of the virus that had emerged months ago. Was that the key?

There was a knock on the door, and Walter quickly shut his laptop. "What?"

"Walter?" That wasn't Phantom's voice. "It's Zoe."

He got up and went to the door, opening it. "What are you doing here?"

"Phantom contacted me. He's worried about you?"

"He's worried about me?" That was a shift, or at least it felt like one. Phantom had seemed totally fixated with his own problems.

"Yeah. Want to talk?"

"Not really."

"Well, I did tell you I won't take no for an answer, right?"

"That was about something different."

"Yes, but it applies here, too." She looked around the room. "Let's go for a walk."

Once they were outside, Walter shut his eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling the fresh air cleanse his lungs. The air had a gentle, moist chill, as though it had just rained. He hadn't noticed.

"I understand why you left."

He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Do you?"

She nodded. "That doesn't mean I agree with it."

"I hope you never have to feel what I feel."

"The guilt?"

He nodded.

"Let's walk." She started walking in a direction.

He fell into step beside her, the back of his mind still trying to chew on the hacker's taunt.

"In one of the martial arts classes I tried, there was this guy who looked like one of my kidnappers. When I saw him, I started flashing back. I probably should have left, but I didn't, and as it happened we were lined up opposite each other to spar. I…" She trailed off and shook her head. "If it hadn't been for the gloves, I probably would have broken his nose."

"You didn't seriously hurt him."

"No. But I certainly didn't go back to that class again. I couldn't look him in the eye."

"That's hardly a comparable story."

"I know."

"Zoe, you're never going to be in the situation that I was in. You're never going to see the love of your life get sprayed with a deadly chemical. You're never going to feel the rage that I felt towards her attacker. You're never…"

"I'm never going to have years of repressed emotions come pouring out of me at once? That's true."

"Huh?"

"You heard me."

They fell silent as Walter considered her words.

"Actually…" Zoe stopped walking. "I've changed my mind. Let's go for a drive."

"Where?"

"Berkeley."

He raised his eyebrows, wondering why she wanted to bring him there. "Alright."

They got into his car and started driving. He waited for her to say something, but she didn't. "So, how's school going?"

"The semester's barely begun. But it will go fine. I've been trying to decide whether to rush or not."

"Rush?"

"A sorority. It's not really my scene, but… Maybe it would be good to see a different kind of social environment from what I'm used to."

"College doesn't have any shortage of opportunities for different social environments. You hardly have to join a sorority to find one."

"I know. My roommate is super keen on it, though. We get along well, but we're pretty different."

"If you're ambivalent about it, my advice would be not to join."

"Gee, that's totally unexpected."

"Hey, you brought it up. I'm older and wiser than you, and I'm friends with your dad, so I get to give you advice." Walter was surprised by his own words. When did he ever say anything like this? But the mood had struck. It felt like he was playing the character of someone else, and he felt strangely giddy about it.

"It's been a while since you've talked to my dad. You should grab coffee with him when you get back to LA."

"I'm not going back to LA." Suddenly, the character was gone, and with it, the giddiness.

They fell quiet again, until they arrived at Berkeley. "So, what are we doing here?" he asked.

"Come with me." They got out of the car, and he followed her towards the heart of the campus. After a little bit of walking, she stopped and turned towards him. "Look around. What do you see?"

Walter frowned and looked around, not seeing anything unusual. "Students, buildings, the campus."

"You know what I see? I see dreams. Every one of us is dreaming about all of the things that we want to do in life, all of the roles that we're here to learn how to play. What did you dream about when you were in college?"

"I don't remember. It was a long time ago."

"I don't believe you."

Walter wasn't lying. He thought back. Most of what he remembered from college was avoiding awkward social encounters and trying not to lash out impatiently at the less-intelligent people around him. He certainly couldn't remember what he dreamed about at the time.

"Fine, then how about when you started Scorpion. What did you dream about then?"

"Helping people."

"How?"

"By using our extreme collective intelligence to solve problems that they couldn't."

"So why aren't you doing that anymore?"

"You know why."

She simply looked at him expectantly for a moment. "Give me your phone."

He frowned, but did as she asked.

She took out her own phone and started typing on both of them. Then she handed his phone back to him. "There. Now you have my number, and I have yours."

"Okay?"

"If you need anything, you know where to find me. Thanks for the ride back to campus."

He raised his eyebrows at her final sentence as she turned and walked away. Their trip here apparently hadn't been solely for his benefit. He laughed quietly to himself, shaking his head, then turned back towards his car.

* * *

The following day, he found himself standing at the window again, thinking about what she had said. She clearly didn't understand things as well as she wanted to think she did. She was still young, and still naïve, despite what she had been through. She couldn't understand why he couldn't go back.

It had felt good to talk to her, though. It felt good to talk to someone who wasn't Phantom. It had filled in, to some small degree, the gaping hole in his life where his teammates had been.

He recalled feeling the same way a year ago. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about the others, and about Paige in particular. It had been that inability to get over her that had driven him to turn to Florence, taking first her body and then her heart. After the first time, he had been ashamed of himself. It had made him feel so ordinary, so normal, and he was supposed to be anything but that. He wasn't supposed to need what other people needed. But as he had spent more time with her, the pain had slowly alleviated.

He recalled the woman from the hotel in Monterey. Katie. She had given him her number.

He hesitated for a moment, starting to feel the shame again, but then searched around until he found the little piece of paper with the phone number on it. He looked at the number, noting the 650 area code. That wasn't far from here.

He recalled the last time he had seen that area code, when Florence had spoken with her brother, William, who lived in Palo Alto. That was where she had gone after…

Leaving the room, he went downstairs and towards the door.

"Going out?" Phantom asked.

"Yeah," Walter quickly replied, not glancing at him. He went outside to his car and got in, then started driving.

"What are you doing, Walter?" Paige's voice asked in his head. He ignored her.

"You should stop right now," said Toby's voice. He kept going.

"We mean it, dummy," said Happy's voice. He pressed on the gas.

"You're a coward," said Sylvester's voice. Walter turned on the radio, drowning them all out.

He was halfway there when he stopped, pulling over on the side of the road. He shut off his car and took a deep breath, letting the silence fill his mind for a moment. This was why he never drove with the radio on.

"Is it going to help you?" Ralph's voice seemed to echo out of his mind and reverberate through the car. He glanced to the side, imagining the boy sitting in the passenger seat.

"Yes."

"How?"

"Because I can't be with your m… with Paige anymore, and I need to think about her less frequently."

"This isn't going to help you with that. It didn't last time."

"It will make it hurt less."

"You're always going to miss her."

"Yes."

The vision of Ralph didn't say anything for a few seconds, and Walter waited. He looked out through the window as cars passed on the road.

"Do what you feel you need to do," the young voice finally said.

Walter turned the car back on, and continued on his way.

When he arrived, he rang the doorbell. William answered. "Walter?" He was a small, scrawny man with short blonde hair similar to Florence's, and a youthful, inquisitive face.

"Hi, William."

"What are you doing here?"

"Is Florence here?"

William made a face. "That's not a good idea."

"Is she?"

"Walter, I'm telling you, it's a bad idea." William glanced back over his shoulder, indicating that Florence was most likely in the house.

Walter stood his ground.

"Well, I suppose it's her decision. Come in." He stepped aside to let Walter enter. "Sit in there." He pointed towards a small living room, where two cream-colored couches sat opposite each other on either side of a simple, wooden coffee table.

Walter went to sit down, then paused in front of a picture of a much younger Florence and William with their parents. They looked happy in the picture. So much had changed since then.

He sat down on one of the couches and waited. The set-up of the couches reminded him of an apartment Sylvester had lived in years ago. The only thing missing was the chess board on the coffee table between them.

"Even William realizes it. This is clearly a bad idea," said Sylvester's voice.

Walter ignored it, looking down at the table and envisioning the old chess board.

"Walter?" He turned and looked up as Florence entered the room. She looked… good. Really good, actually. She had let her hair grow out a little, so that it was beginning to frame her face. It was a good look for her.

"Hi."

"How are you?" She went over to the other couch and sat down opposite him.

"I'm… I'm okay, I… well, I… How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"That's good." He looked down, knowing what needed to be said first. "I left Scorpion."

She didn't say anything at first. She simply looked at him, leaning back just slightly. "Why?"

"Because of what happened… in Maryland. I… It can never happen again."

"Yeah…" Now she looked down. "No kidding."

"I lost control of my emotions. As long as I'm around them, it could always happen again. I care about them too much."

She looked up at him. "I'm not sure that's the problem, Walter."

"It is. I… I'm dangerous. As long as I'm around them."

"As long as you're around… people you care about?"

"Yes, and so I had to le…" He trailed off, realizing her implication, and shut his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I don't… I do care about you. I did care about you a lot…"

"Walter, it's okay. It's been several months." She sat up a little straighter. "But if I had been the one that Collins nearly killed, I don't think you would have done what you did."

It hurt to hear her say the name out loud, and for a moment he completely overlooked the weight of her statement. But she was right, of course.

"Walter, you're not dangerous. It took an extreme stimulus to get you to react that way. You thought he had killed the woman that you were in love with. And yes, I knew that you were still in love with her. It was plain as day the whole time we were in that house."

He abruptly felt the need to look anywhere but at her.

"And that's a conflux of circumstances that is not going to occur on a regular basis. I mean sure, Scorpion gets itself into trouble from time to time, but the exact set of circumstances that converged for you to lose control like that are not going to happen again. And more to the point, you need to stop suppressing your emotions so that they burst out of you in rage like they did there."

He had thought she would be more understanding. After all, she was the other person who had… "There's still the guilt."

"Oh, I know the guilt. Believe me, I know all about the guilt. I still see Isaac's face all the time, and feel the weight of the gun in my hand. But then I remind myself that Cabe is still alive because of what I did. How is he, by the way?"

"He's fine." At least she had that thought to help her get by. She had saved Cabe's life. He hadn't saved anyone in doing what he did.

"Good. And the others?"

"They're all fine." He sat up a little straighter, his gaze not quite making it back to her face. "I didn't come here to talk about… that day."

"You were explaining why you left Scorpion."

"Yeah. I had to."

"You had to leave or you had to explain?"

"I… both."

She knit her brows together. "Walter, why are you here?"

That was the most difficult question to answer. He looked over at the wall, his eyes searching for nothing. Seconds ticked by silently.

"I'm seeing someone," she said quietly.

His gaze snapped back to her, and he wondered if he had misheard her. "Really?"

"Yes."

Walter leaned back, part of him feeling relieved. "What's he like?"

"He's boring. He's really boring, actually. But that's exactly what I need right now."

Walter nodded. Maybe that was what he needed, too.

Silence fell, and Walter realized that there was no longer any point to his being here. "I should probably go."

"Yes, you should." She stood, and he stood opposite her, then turned for the door. "But… it was good to see you."

"Likewise." He opened the door and stepped outside, then turned back to her. "Florence, the guy that you're seeing now… Does he know that you find him boring?"

"Yes. I decided that it would be best to be up front with him about it. I mean, obviously he can't know the reason why boring is what I need right now, but… We can be honest about anything that isn't classified, right?"

"Right." He was glad that she was honest about it, though he was perhaps a bit surprised that the relationship had survived such honesty. Maybe the guy was used to being labeled boring.

He returned to his car, then looked back at her again. She waved, and then shut the door. He started to open the car door, and then paused.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the piece of paper with Katie's number on it. Then he pulled out his phone and started dialing.

He was seven numbers in when the screen went black, and then showed that he was receiving a call. Zoe Elia. She hadn't wasted any time.

He answered. "Hello?"

"Walter, I'm at Phantom's house. Where are you?"

"I…" Had he missed something yesterday? Was he supposed to have been expecting her to return?

"Never mind. Just get back here. Ralph's discovered something."

"I'm on my way."

* * *

"Where were you?" Zoe asked when he arrived.

"Never mind that. What did Ralph discover?"

"We think we know where your hacker is," said Phantom. He was sitting at his computer.

"Where?"

"Tahoe."

"Tahoe?" Walter raised his eyebrows. "Of course." It was so obvious that he almost laughed out loud for not having realized it sooner. It had all been about him, all along. Of course it would end with the reminder of his greatest mistake of all, the very peak of the war between his former self and the new one, when he had become so afraid of his own emotions that he had knowingly pushed Paige into the arms of a man who was nothing like him.

"Why of course?" Zoe asked.

Walter shook his head, trying to push away the one memory that he always refused to entertain, but that would be impossible now. "Long story." Turning, he started heading back towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Phantom asked.

"Tahoe."

"I'm coming with you," said Zoe.

Walter stopped walking, but it was a moment before he turned back. "Let me guess, you won't take no for an answer?"

"Correct."

"If anything happens to you, your father will—"

"Don't you dare try to use that as an excuse. You're the one who's too afraid to even go back to LA."

He pursed his lips and stared at her for a moment. "Fine. Let's go." They started walking towards the door. Then Walter stopped and looked back towards Phantom. "Phantom…"

Phantom waited for what he was going to say.

Walter felt himself soften a little, thinking about what Paige would do. "If Paige were here, she would tell you… I understand that you feel you missed crucial lessons with regards to communication, but it's not too late to learn those lessons. You should… You should go out and meet people, and make those mistakes that you didn't make before. You should say stupid and insensitive things, and get people mad at you, and then you learn not to say those things anymore. And you learn what it is that you are supposed to say, even if instinct doesn't always agree. You'll… You'll learn to make friends."

Phantom looked down, and nodded.

"Thank you for your… Thank you for letting me stay here."

"You're welcome. Go get the hacker."

Walter nodded, and he and Zoe left, returning to his car.

"That was nice, what you said to him."

"Thanks."

"And I know you were thinking it was what Paige would say, but… I have a feeling that was all you, Walter."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, smiling a little at her words. "Get in the car."

She smiled and did as she was told, and they set out for Tahoe.

"So, what's the long story regarding Tahoe?" she asked when they were several minutes into the drive.

"I'm not going into that."

"Fine. Then at least turn on the radio."


	16. System Update

**A/N: Hey all. We've finally made it! Here's the final chapter, although I will be adding a brief epilogue scene tomorrow. Thank you so much to everyone who has come this far with me, and I hope you have enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

 **Of course, I'm not quite ready to leave our cyclone behind yet, so I'm toying with ideas for a sequel that would star Ralph.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: CBS owns _Scorpion_.**

 **Chapter 16: System Update**

"What are you all doing here?" Walter demanded. The rest of Team Scorpion was standing outside of a hotel at an address that Ralph had texted to Zoe. Also present were Ralph, Cecilia, Tyler, and Michael. The students were all wearing comms, and Walter guessed that Ada was listening in.

"I told Zoe to wait until we had time to get up here before telling you what I found," Ralph explained. "We're a team, Walter. We're finishing this together." Walter had never heard Ralph speak so sternly before, and he realized just how angry the boy was at him.

He turned to Zoe. "You hid that from me all day?" He felt a little betrayed, but also a little impressed by the aggressiveness of Ralph's decision.

She nodded. "I didn't enjoy hiding something from you, but in my opinion, he made the right call." Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her comm and put it on. "Hi, Ada."

Walter looked back at Ralph for a moment, then at Cecilia. "Are you okay with this? With working with me?"

Cecilia grimaced. "What I want is for you to turn yourself in after this is over, but Government Man here tells me that can't happen." She briefly glanced at Cabe.

"I'm leaving after this is over," said Walter. "You'll never see me again."

"But you'll still be free, and you don't deserve to be."

"We'll talk about that when this is done," said Paige. "And yes, we will talk about it," she added, giving Walter a defiant look. Walter didn't want to have that conversation, but he knew that she would force the issue.

And Cecilia was wrong. Walter was never going to truly be free. He was never going to feel free.

Toby looked at Ralph. "Why don't you explain how you deduced that the hacker was in Tahoe? Otherwise this conversation is never going to get anywhere."

Ralph gestured to the hotel behind them. "I noticed some strange cyber-traffic fluctuations coming from the hotel. The reason I decided to look here is because…" He trailed off, looking at his mother. "Because I was surprised that the hacker hadn't yet included a reminder of you-know-who among the various means of taunting you."

"You can say his name," Walter and Paige said in unison.

"Tim."

"I don't think it's so much about the reminder of Tim," said Walter. "I think it's about the reminder of how stupidly I acted when I…" Now he trailed off and looked at Paige.

Her expression softened at his admission.

"That's something else you guys should talk about after this is over," said Toby. "But first, let's shut this person down, once and for all."

"Finally," Happy muttered, turning towards the hotel. The other members of the team turned as well, except for Sylvester. Walter glanced at him, catching the lingering anger in his expression just before he turned away.

They entered the hotel and approached the front desk. A man behind the desk looked up at them, and a look of apprehension crossed his face. "Team Scorpion?"

"Are we expected?" Cabe asked.

"Yes," the man replied, his head nodding jerkily. "I am to ask you to wait in room 629." He passed a key to them across the desk.

Paige sighed. "Of course."

"That's the room you stayed in?" Ralph asked.

"Yes."

Walter inwardly cringed. He had long been over his jealousy of Tim, but he still didn't want to think about that night they had been here while he had been driving through the night to reach her.

"The elevators are that way." The man pointed stiffly.

"I remember," said Paige.

Walter shook away his thoughts and focused on the more pressing issue. The hacker knew they were here, and was expecting them. What were they walking into?

They reached the room and entered. Walter glanced at the door to the adjoining room, the one that Tim had been supposed to stay in before he changed it. He was suddenly attacked by the memory of Paige's anger when she had learned what he did, and the lump in his gut hardened. He hadn't deserved her then, and he definitely didn't deserve her now.

There didn't seem to be anything strange about the room. "I don't see any cameras," said Happy, looking around. "Look for any cameras or microphones."

Walter barely had the heart to follow her direction as the guilt weighed on him more and more. He looked at the bed, then quickly looked away from it.

"It's hot in here," said Tyler. He went over to the A/C and opened the panel. "What is this?" Walter looked over as he held up a small device.

"That's a miniature bluetooth speaker," said Cecilia. "It's tiny."

"It's probably connected to wherever the hacker is. But it's just a speaker. There's no microphone." Tyler turned the device over in his hand.

"So, we're going to get further instructions at some point," said Cabe.

"Well, there's no way we're just going to sit tight until that happens," said Cecilia. She turned to Ralph. "Is there any way for you to divert the signal on the bluetooth, so that the hacker has to come here and give us the instructions in person?"

"Yes." Ralph removed his backpack and opened it, pulling out his laptop.

Walter looked at Cecilia, impressed by her idea. When she caught his look, however, she sent him a glare, and he quickly looked away.

Suddenly, the television turned on, and the white noise screen appeared, blasting the annoying noise across the room. Toby quickly grabbed the remote and tried to lower the volume, but it didn't work. Frowning, he turned the remote over and opened the battery slots. The batteries had been removed.

Paige went to the television to manually lower the volume, but those buttons weren't working either. Frowning, Cecilia turned the television and looked at the back of it. She said something, but couldn't be heard over the noise.

Finally, Sylvester unplugged the machine, and it went dead.

"Someone did a number to this thing," Cecilia repeated, now that she was audible.

"And what's the point of that?" Paige asked. "Just to annoy us?"

"A lot of what the hacker's done so far is just nuisance," Happy pointed out. She walked over beside Cecilia to see what she was looking at. "Yeah, this machine's never going to work properly again."

Walter felt the noise echoing in his ears. He clenched his jaw, trying to get rid of it.

"Alright, I've got a hold of the connection to the speaker," said Ralph. He had sat down on the bed with his laptop, and Zoe had sat down beside him and was peering over his shoulder. "Um, wait…"

"That's too easy," said Zoe. "It has to be a trap."

"Yeah, probably."

"What is it?" Walter asked impatiently.

"It's made pretty obvious here that the signal to the speaker is originating in the basement."

"I agree, that's probably a trap," said Cabe.

"Unless that's just what the hacker wants us to think," said Tyler. "I mean, if we think it's a trap, we're going to stay away from there. This person knows how smart we are, and knows that we would find this far too obvious."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," said Toby.

"Alright, some of us will check it out," said Cabe. "You kids should stay up here."

"Hey." Tyler frowned. "Not cool."

"Cecilia and I should both go," said Happy, "just in case there are traps that we need to take care of."

"I'll stay up here," said Sylvester. He frowned at Walter, making it clear that he didn't want to go anywhere with him.

"Me too," said Ralph. "I have another idea. But put your comms in."

Paige put in her comm, then walked over and handed Walter his own, which he had left in LA. He frowned at it for a moment, but took it from her and put it in.

"Hi, everyone," said Ada.

"Hi, Ada," Toby replied.

Zoe, of course, refused to be left behind, so she joined Tyler and Cecilia in coming down to the basement with the team. Sylvester waited upstairs with Ralph and Michael, who still hadn't said anything.

Only one elevator went down to the basement, and that was a service elevator at the back of the hotel. It moved slowly and grumpily, not nearly as smooth as the elevators at the front of the building that the guests were supposed to use. When they finally reached the basement, they emerged in a plain, white hallway that stretched out on either side of them.

Walter looked up at a security camera attached to the ceiling. The hacker was probably watching them, and he gave the camera a defiant look.

"Which way?" Zoe asked.

"Let's try left," said Cecilia. "More of the building is this way."

They went left and passed a large laundry room full of industrial-sized washers for linens. Heat pulsed out through the open doorway, and Walter tried to pass the room as quickly as possible. He was frustrated enough as is without the temperature needing to become bothersome.

A maid passed by and glanced at them warily, but didn't try to intercept them. She had the same nervous look on her face that the man behind the check-in desk had.

They passed another door, which appeared to be locked, but the lock buzzed as they passed. They stopped and turned to the door.

"That sounds like an invitation," said Zoe.

"I think the word you used before is more appropriate," said Happy. "Trap." Leaning down, she and Cecilia both began examining the lock closely, trying to determine a way to discern any traps.

"Oh, just come in," said a voice from the other side of the door. "There aren't any traps."

Walter froze at the voice. Then, from deep within his body, some inexplicable force drove him into action. Pushing past Happy, he opened the door and surged into the room. "You!"

"Finally!" said Mark Collins. His face was badly scarred, but he was very much alive.

"You son of a bitch," said Happy as she entered the room behind Walter.

Walter simply stared at him. Then he wobbled as he was suddenly struck by a wave of several emotions at once. Cabe, who was next into the room, grabbed a hold of him as he doubled over, feeling nauseous.

"Who is this?" Tyler asked.

"Mark Collins," Toby replied.

"The guy Walter killed?"

"Or thought he killed, apparently."

"Pleased to meet you all," said Collins. Walter shut his eyes, feeling the need to block out the voice and all other senses as he fought to regain control of his gut.

"You look good, Mark," said Toby. "The face suits you."

"I suppose so," Collins replied. "I must say, it was almost worth it for all of the entertainment that it led to. You, Walter, were an even more theatrical star than I thought you would be."

Walter finally managed to push away the nausea and stand upright again. He glared at Collins.

"Agent Johnson saw your body," said Cabe.

"She glanced quickly at a body, a decoy," Collins explained. "She had no reason to doubt what the good doctor was telling her. He was remarkably easy to bribe. He seemed to enjoy pulling the wool over the government's eyes."

"And that decoy was in the coffin that was taken to South Carolina?"

"Precisely."

"You asshole," Walter muttered.

"What was that?"

Walter repeated it, more loudly.

"Now, now, Walter, let's get our emotions under control, shall we?" Collins stepped up to him, and Walter clenched his fists. "We've seen just what can happen when you lose it. Or do you want to take another swing?" He gestured to his face.

"No," Walter bit back, unclenching his hands.

"Good boy. Although, honestly, the thought that you could kill me with a few punches was rather narcistic, wasn't it? You're not nearly as strong as you must think you are."

Walter raised his eyebrows. That thought had never occurred to him.

"Well, he certainly gave you a nice little jigsaw there, didn't he?" Tyler remarked.

"True."

"And now you're hiding in the basement of a hotel," said Toby.

"Hiding? I've got nothing to hide from anymore." Collins gestured to the several computers around the large room, each of which was connected to several screens. "I can control anything I want to from here. And I get to enjoy all the beauty of Tahoe, whenever I want to. This really could have been a great little romantic getaway for you two, if things had gone differently." He glanced at Walter and Paige in turn.

"Does Anna know you're alive?" Toby asked.

Collins's face fell, and he looked away.

"That's a no. Why?" Toby pressed, taking a step towards Collins.

The scarred face curled itself into a lopsided scowl as Collins looked back at him. "It would be a little complicated now, wouldn't it?"

"I got news for you, Mark: You were never exactly George Clooney. I don't think she was with you for your looks."

Collins looked away again.

"You two clearly clicked on some psychotic-genius level of mutual understanding. I think she would look right past the scars. And I think that you think that, too. That's not the real reason why you're afraid to tell her, is it?"

Walter looked at Toby in surprise, having no idea what he was getting at. Maybe his mind was still working too slowly from the shock.

"It's complicated," Collins muttered.

"That phrase is always a cop-out," said Paige.

Collins looked at her, the rest of his face orienting more slowly than his eyes did. Once he was fully turned towards her, he paused for a moment, simply staring. "I never… Anna and I weren't supposed to… It was never supposed to happen that way."

"What do you mean?" she asked quietly, as though he were speaking solely to her.

"I admired her… from afar, the way… the way that guys like us always admire attractive women. I watched her like you would watch a meteor shower, or a sunset… an untouchable force of nature, as perfect in its indifference as in its beauty. A sunset is never supposed to admire you back. It's just not supposed to actually work out that way."

"Did you just quote River Song?" Cecilia asked.

"Did I… what?"

"That line about the sunset. That's a line from _Doctor Who_ , sort of."

"I really don't think so," said Walter, annoyed that she had ruined Mark's emotional moment with a pop culture reference. He recalled himself thinking along similar lines as he had watched the sunset from the coast south of Monterey the other night.

"The point is that guys like us aren't actually supposed to get the girls, at least not the ones that we truly admire," said Mark. "It's not supposed to work out that way."

"Sometimes it does," said Walter. He couldn't help glancing at Paige, and she glanced back at him, giving him a small smile.

"Cute," Mark muttered.

"You should tell Anna the truth," said Toby. "Maybe we can even have you booked in the same prison that she's in."

"Oh, I'm not going to prison." Collins walked over to one of the computers. "You finally finding me doesn't put you in a position of any power here." He pressed a button, and each of the screens attached to that computer lit up with an image of an air-traffic control tower. Walter recognized several of the towers from airports around California. "Paige, do you remember the very first job you worked with Team Scorpion on? If I press this button, each of these towers loses communication with all of the planes in the sky around them. You remember what happens then, right?"

"Yes," Paige replied.

"Good."

"What about the hotel staff?" Toby asked. "Why do they all seem so nervous?"

"Because they all have families, and don't want anything bad happening to them."

"You're threatening all of their families?" Cecilia asked.

Collins smiled at her. "You make it sound difficult." He walked over to one of the other computers and pressed a button, and the screens showed the interiors of several hotel rooms. "I arranged for the hotel to have a staff appreciation weekend, during which everyone's families were invited to come and stay, free of charge. And, like any good Hotel California, you can check in, but you can't leave."

"You're an Eagles fan?" Tyler asked. "Figures."

"It's been fascinating to watch all of the little emotional reactions from the people out there." He gestured vaguely upwards as he walked back towards the team. "Though not nearly as fascinating, of course, as watching you has been." He stopped in front of Walter. "You, Walter, are the star of my show, and somebody get this man an Emmy."

Walter felt his stomach start to turn again as he thought of all of the fallout from him thinking that he had killed Collins. He had made a spectacular mess of things, again.

"And while I must say that I'm disappointed by just how persistent your emotions have been in sticking around and hampering your brilliance, I'm also flattered by just how much anguish you felt over my supposed death. I always knew you would miss me."

"I wasn't missing you, but I felt guilty."

"Right, guilty. Well, you did lose control in spectacular fashion, and show just how destructive you can be. It's a good thing you just had me beneath your hands, and not a keyboard, or people really could have died."

"I would never do that."

"Oh, never say never. After all, you have one very obvious vulnerability, don't you?" He walked over to Paige. "You could never let anything happen to her. And if anything did happen to her, well, God help the world."

Walter looked at her, and she looked back at him. He wasn't sure he could honestly say that Collins was wrong.

Even if he hadn't killed anyone, he was still dangerous.

"Hey, Collins." Everyone looked over at Zoe, who was now standing in front of the screens with the air-traffic control towers. She held up the keyboard, showing that she had disconnected it. "You lose."

Collins stared at her, a smirk slowly crossing his damaged face. Then he started clapping. "Well, bravo, Miss Elia. You just killed a lot of people."

Zoe faltered, and the keyboard fell from her hand, clattering on the floor. "I… what?"

"Did you really think that me pressing that button was the only way to cut off the towers? That wouldn't give me much freedom to walk around, now, would it? And I certainly wouldn't start walking around immediately after telling you about the button if it was the only way. Give me some credit here."

"It was programmed as a failsafe," said Walter.

"Yes. In all of the computers. Hundreds of planes are about to fall out of the sky, Miss Elia. Congratulations, you're officially the greatest mass-murderer since Bin Laden."

"Except that those planes will be just fine," said Walter.

Collins turned to him slowly. "What?"

Walter had been paying partial attention to the chatter between Ralph and Ada over the comms. "Remember the bubble that you put around my apartment building months ago to keep us from calling the police? Well, Ralph put a bubble around the entire hotel. Your signal never made it to any of those airports."

Collins stared at him. "That boy… He just won't get out of my way, will he?"

"Mark Collins, you're under arrest," said Cabe, stepping forward with his pair of handcuffs.

Walter's satisfaction was short-lived as he saw Zoe fall out of the corner of his eye. She was trembling, and there were tears in her eyes. "Thank God," she muttered.

He immediately went to her, kneeling down. "Everything's okay."

"I could have killed all of those people."

"But you didn't."

She hugged him, hiding her face in his shoulder as she sobbed.

"How touching," Collins muttered. He flexed his wrists against the handcuffs. "You know this isn't over. I always find a way to escape. Every time."

"Then we'll stop you," said Cecilia. "Every time."

Walter raised his eyebrows at her. Then Zoe lifted her head from his shoulder, and he looked back at her. "Are you okay?"

She took a shaky breath, then nodded. "I will be. I'm sorry for being so reckless."

"It's okay. You'll learn."

She looked at him for a moment, then nodded again. He stood and extended his hand for her, helping her up.

They took two shifts in the service elevator this time, since it would be too crowded with Collins. Toby and Happy went up first with Cabe and his prisoner, while Walter and Paige waited with the three students.

Cecilia turned to Walter. "I owe you an apology."

"No, you don't. You thought I really had killed him, just like I did. Your reaction was perfectly justified, especially considering… what you've been through." He shuddered a little at the thought. "And the fact is that I did lose control. I may not have actually killed him, but I still…" He trailed off, then looked at Paige. "Collins has a point. If anything were to happen to you, or if there were a chance of anything happening to you, I don't know that I could…" He turned and looked back towards the elevator. "And that goes for everyone on the team."

"That's not unusual," said Cecilia.

"Everyone has vulnerabilities," Tyler added. "We all have people that we would kill for. Well, not literally kill, but, you get the point."

"If someone were to hurt Russell, they would sure as hell need to run away from me," said Zoe. "Really fast." There was still some hurt in her voice.

Walter was comforted by their words, and even more comforted by Paige's hand coming up to the back of his shoulder. "We'll work on controlling your emotions," she said quietly. "Just like we worked on you recognizing them."

He looked back at her and nodded. The elevator arrived, and they all got in.

When the doors opened again and Zoe saw Ralph, she suddenly ran to him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you so much for blocking the signal in time."

"Uh, you're welcome." Ralph's eyes were as wide as saucers as he awkwardly brought his arms up to hug her back. As the hug lasted, he started to turn pink.

* * *

Paige stuck close to Walter's side as they waited for Agent Johnson to arrive and take custody of Collins.

"Yesterday, he taunted me on my laptop." Walter was only half speaking to her as he stared at Collins, who was sitting in the back of Cabe's car. "He said that the old me would have figured it out months ago. I think he meant that the old me would have wanted to see his body for myself, and wouldn't have been so quick to take Agent Johnson's word that he was dead."

"Well, it's true that you weren't always so trusting," Paige said quietly.

"But I don't think it's a negative development. I mean, maybe this time it was, but in general… I like being able to trust you. And the others."

"You know that you always can."

"I know." He finally pulled his eyes away from Collins and looked at her. She looked back at him, and he found himself getting lost in her eyes for a moment before he pulled himself back. There were things that needed to be said. "I… um…"

She turned, orienting herself towards him, and waited.

"I should tell you, I went to see Florence today."

That was clearly not what she had been expecting, and she reeled backwards a little. "Why?"

"Nothing happened, we just talked." Walter felt the need to begin with that assurance, but he wasn't sure where to go from there. "I just… I couldn't stop thinking about you, and I needed… I needed to be able to."

"So you went to Florence."

"Nothing happened," Walter repeated. "She's seeing someone."

Paige's eyes narrowed. "Good for her. And if she weren't?"

Walter turned himself so that he was fully facing her. "The truth is that I don't think it would have kept me from thinking about you at all. She pointed out that while we were in the house in Maryland, it was obvious to her that I was still in love with you."

"Really? It was less obvious to me. You seemed very fond of her."

"I did come to love her, but the truth is that I was still in love with you. The whole time."

"Okay." She looked away from him, still looking upset. "Well, thank you for being honest with me. I need to… I need to check on Ralph."

Walter raised his eyebrows and looked over at Ralph, who was sitting with the other students. He looked perfectly fine.

He watched as Paige walked over to her son, her shoulders tense. He felt bad about upsetting her, but he didn't think that he had made a mistake. She had insisted on full disclosure between them. No more secrets. It wouldn't have been good for him to keep this from her.

He sighed, deciding that he would try to talk to her again later. In the meantime, he looked over at Sylvester, who was standing with the rest of the team, and walked over.

Sylvester noticed him when he was about halfway there, and frowned.

"Can I talk to you?" Walter asked.

Sylvester made a face. "Fine." He walked away from the others, and Walter followed.

"You seem more angry at me than the others do," Walter observed when Sylvester stopped walking and turned to face him.

"Really? You managed to suss that out?" The sarcasm was evident. Sylvester glanced back towards the others. "They all have their own lives now. They don't need Scorpion as much anymore."

That was an entirely different conversation. "And you?"

"I bared my heart to you last week. I told you how important Scorpion was to me, and how important you were to me. And then you went and abandoned us again."

"You were perceiving yourself as similar to Phantom, which really isn't true. Believe me, you are far better adjusted than he is." That was even more evident after the past few days.

"Walter, that is not the important part. The important part is that you abandoned the team. You abandoned our friendship, right after I told you how important it was to me."

"I did it to keep you safe. I thought I had killed someone." It still felt a little bothersome to say those words out loud.

"No, you did it because you were afraid of your emotions. Again."

"That's true."

Sylvester had started to say something else, and he quickly shut his mouth, surprised by Walter agreeing with him.

"And the truth is that I'm still a little afraid of losing control again. But I didn't kill anyone, and I don't think… I don't think I ever really could, unless it were absolutely necessary to save someone I care about. Such as you."

Sylvester's eyes widened a little at the confession.

"And Paige says we're going to work on controlling my emotions." Walter hoped that was still true after he had upset her again.

"You don't get to keep leaving and coming back."

"I'm never leaving again. I promise."

Sylvester pursed his lips, but his gaze slowly softened. "I'm holding you to that," he finally said.

Walter smiled. "Good."

They returned to the others, and Toby looked up. "Are you two good?"

Walter glanced at Sylvester, who gave a small nod. "Yes."

"Good," said Happy, "but you still have to apologize to the rest of us."

"I know. I'm sorry. I realized that if I had killed once just because I had lost control of my emotions, it could happen again. I care about all of you… a lot. If anything happened to any of you, I could…" He trailed off. "But I didn't kill anyone, and I'm done suppressing my emotions. Paige says we're going to work on control, and I think… I think I'm going to be better."

Toby and Happy exchanged a glance, and then both nodded. Cabe reached out and put a hand on Walter's shoulder, and Walter resisted the instinct to pull away. Instead, he closed in and hugged Cabe, much to the agent's surprise.

"Cute, Agent Gallo." Everyone turned to see Agent Johnson approach, followed by three other agents. Walter hadn't noticed as they parked their van behind his car.

"Agent Johnson." Cabe walked over and conferred with her briefly, and then they went to his car, opening the door so Collins could get out.

Collins looked over at the students. "Ralph." He waited as Ralph stood. "I'm impressed. Twice over now. But next time, I'll know who I'm really up against."

Ralph gave him a defiant look. "I'll be waiting."

Collins smiled, then looked at Walter. "Don't be a stranger, Walt. Come and visit me before I get out."

Walter noticed Agent Johnson roll her eyes as she started to lead him away. "We'll see."

She placed him in the back of the van, and two of her agents climbed in with him. Then she walked back over to Cabe, and they spoke quietly.

Walter knitted his eyebrows together as he watched them, noticing how close they were standing to each other. He saw her chuckle softly at something that Cabe said. "Um, are they…"

"Are you just noticing that now, 197?" asked Toby.

Walter raised his eyebrows and looked at him, then back at Cabe and Agent Johnson… or perhaps he should start thinking of her as Candace. He was happy for Cabe. They seemed very similar, and the commonalities among their past experiences would likely prevent the problem that had arisen with Allie from repeating.

After a minute or two, the two agents walked over to the students, and the team followed suit. "How are you getting back to Berkeley?" Cabe asked Zoe. "It's a little late to catch a bus."

"I was hoping for a ride." She looked at Walter.

"You wouldn't be getting there until close to midnight," said Toby. He glanced at the hotel behind them. "They might let us stay here for free tonight, after what we did for them."

"No," Paige replied. "I'm done with Tahoe, at least for now. And let the staff take the night to reunite with their families." She looked at Zoe. "We'll all take you back to Berkeley, and stay the night in San Francisco."

Zoe smiled. "I appreciate that."

"If we're all going to stay at a hotel, could you cover us?" asked Tyler. "I mean, money-wise."

"Sure."

"Thank you," said Cecilia. Walter noticed that she still had her comm in, so Ada could still listen in.

"Travel safely," said Agent Johnson. She looked at Cabe. "Stop by the department after you get back to LA tomorrow."

"Yes, M'am." His eyes followed her as she walked away. Walter watched him, feeling a little amused now that he knew what was going on.

The black van quickly disappeared into the night. It wouldn't arrive in LA until well into the early morning. Walter recalled his own drive through the night in the opposite direction, then quickly shook away the memory. He was also done with Tahoe for the time being.

Turning back to the group, he looked at Paige, and found her looking back at him.

"We should get going," said Sylvester. "We don't want to be getting to bed too late."

"For us, it isn't late," said Tyler.

"Right. College."

* * *

It was indeed nearly midnight by the time they arrived at Berkeley. Zoe thanked all of them for coming along.

"Hold on to your comm," said Cecilia. "You never know what might come up."

Zoe smiled and pulled out her comm. "Goodnight, Ada."

Walter glanced at Cecilia. He hadn't envisioned the students' cooperation with Scorpion becoming a long-term situation, but that would be a conversation for the daylight hours.

Zoe turned to Ralph. "Thanks again for blocking the signal." Leaning over, she kissed his cheek.

"You're welcome." The color-change on his face was visible even in the darkness.

Now Zoe turned to Walter. "And as for you…" She looked around at everyone else. "Could you guys give us a minute?"

They all said goodnight and returned to the cars they had travelled in. Walter waited, wondering what Zoe was going to say.

Zoe gestured around herself. "What do you see?"

Walter looked around. Despite the hour, many students were still out and about. Some were walking purposefully, others were standing around and talking in small groups. One couple was partially-hidden in the shadow of a nearby building, wrapped up in each other's affections.

He thought about what Zoe said yesterday. They were all dreaming, all envisioning where they wanted to go and how they would get there.

"Students, friends, lovers…" He trailed off, and looked at her. "Dreamers."

"Don't you ever leave that team again. They're your family. Your dream."

"I won't," he assured her.

"Good. And you better invite me to the wedding."

The word sent his mind spinning off down avenues of possibilities, but he quickly reeled it back to the present. "One step at a time."

She smiled. "Of course. Goodnight, Walter."

"Goodnight."

She departed, and he looked around again. The students around him proceeded with their night, each of them pursuing their chosen paths with the people they chose to accompany them.

"You coming, Walt?" That was Toby, sticking his head out of his wife's car.

He turned and looked at them. "Yes, I'm coming."

* * *

Despite the hour and everything that happened that day, Walter didn't think he could fall asleep immediately. There was too much to think about. He had seen a peaceful-looking courtyard behind the lobby of their hotel, and that felt like the perfect place to go and take some time to process.

He shut the door as quietly as he could so as not to disturb Cabe, then started walking down the hall. He stopped when he saw Paige and Ralph talking quietly.

He was about to turn in the other direction, but Ralph spotted him. Walter hesitated, waiting to see what Ralph would do, and after a moment, the boy beckoned him over.

"What are you doing?" Ralph asked when he reached them.

"Just going downstairs to think for a bit."

"Me too. Mom doesn't want me walking around the hotel on my own."

Walter glanced at Paige, and then back at Ralph. "Then how about we go together?"

The boy pursed his lips for a moment. "I'm still a little angry at you for leaving."

Walter knelt down as he had used to when talking to Ralph, then realized that this didn't bring him to eye-level with the boy anymore. Ralph was getting taller. "I'm sorry I left. I was afraid of losing control of my emotions again, and afraid of who I might hurt if something happened to any of you."

Ralph nodded. "I know. I understand why you left. I just wish you hadn't."

"Well, I'm not leaving again. I promise."

"You better not." Ralph leaned over and hugged Walter, holding onto him tightly.

Walter shut his eyes, feeling the familiar rush of emotion.

When Ralph pulled away, he looked at his mother. "I'm going to go inside. You two should talk." He looked back at Walter. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight. Sleep well."

Ralph stepped past his mother and unlocked the door to their room, disappearing behind it. Walter stood and looked at Paige.

"Let's go," she said, turning and walking down the hall. He followed her, and no further words were exchanged as they traveled down to the lobby.

The courtyard had a small, gentle fountain at the center, with a cherub spitting water out into the bowl that surrounded him. On each side of the fountain were stone benches with backrests, and Paige sat on one of them. Walter joined her.

She brought her knees up and stared at the cherub, appearing to quickly lose herself in her thoughts. Just as Walter was about to say something, however, she spoke. "I'm sorry for getting upset about Florence earlier."

He raised his eyebrows, not expecting that to be the first thing she would say.

"It just caught me off guard, and reopened an old wound."

"I'm sorry. I thought I should tell you about it. We agreed on no more secrets."

"I know. I'm glad you told me. And I understand why you went to her."

She kept her gaze fixed on the fountain, and he wished that she would look at him. He leaned forward, looking down. "Paige, I'm sorry for leaving."

"You don't have to reiterate to me what you just said to Ralph."

"But I do have to say it to you, too. I'm sorry. And I promise I won't leave again."

Finally, she looked at him, and the tears in her eyes caught the light from the building behind them.

He looked back at her, waiting to see what she would do.

Abruptly, she surged towards him, throwing her arms around him. He brought his hands up to hold her as she sobbed into his shoulder.

As he held her, he was hammered by a mixture of emotions. He was determined to sympathize with her tears, but part of him was so delighted to be holding her again that he wasn't sure he could feel the necessary sadness. An even less appropriate part of his mind wanted to fixate on the feel of her body pressed against his, while still another part was confused as to whether all these tears were over his departure, or whether there was something more.

After a few minutes, she lifted her head, but didn't loosen her grip on him. Her mouth rose until it was near his ear. "I was still in love with you, too," she whispered. "The whole time."

He was confused for a moment, then realized that she was responding to what he said earlier, before she walked away.

Then he began to understand. Through everything that had happened over the past year, her love for him had remained, just as his love for her had. He relived it all through her eyes, from the beginning of his relationship with Florence to the moment he told her that his love for her was the reason Collins was dead. He had done so much that would hurt her.

In making his promise to her, he was implicitly asking her to trust him again, after he had already hurt her so many times over. Was that fair?

She lowered her head back to his shoulder, still holding on tightly, and he tightened his hold to match hers, unwilling to let go.

* * *

"Walter?" He felt prodding on his shoulder, and slowly lifted his head.

There was too much light on the other side of his eyelids, and he declined to open his eyes for the moment. "What?" His body was hurting, due to the hard stone surface beneath him, and the weight against his shoulder.

Suddenly, he realized where he was, and opened his eyes wide, despite the light. As he jerked, Paige sprang back from him, waking up abruptly.

They had fallen asleep in their embrace on the bench.

"Ow." Paige rubbed her shoulder, and looked ruefully at the stone backrest that it had been pressed against.

"You two are really cute." Walter blinked up at Tyler, who was standing in front of them. Cecilia was also there.

Paige looked around. "Did we really fall asleep here?"

"Apparently," Walter muttered. He rubbed his eyes, his body resisting every minor movement.

"I got a super cute pic of you." Tyler showed them his phone, which featured a picture of them still holding each other as they slept. "Do either of you have insta?"

"No." Walter and Paige both looked up at the voice. Ralph appeared on the far side of Cecilia. Walter watched the boy carefully, but couldn't read anything in his face.

"Ralph…"

"How did you sleep, Mom?"

Paige looked thoroughly embarrassed.

Ralph looked from her to Walter, and then back. "I'll see if the hotel has any advil." He walked away.

He was almost immediately replaced by Cabe. "There you are. What the hell happened?" When neither Walter nor Paige responded, Tyler showed him the picture. "Oh. I see."

Walter largely ignored him, following Ralph with his eyes. Then he got up, groaning a little as his nerves complained, and went after the boy. "Ralph?"

Ralph stopped and turned. "What?"

Walter still wasn't sure what to make of the reaction. "Are you… Um… Is something wrong?"

"No." Ralph glanced back towards his mother, then up at him. "What happened last night?"

"We were talking, and she started crying."

Ralph's face immediately fell into a frown. "What did you do?"

"I didn't—" The defensiveness was the immediate instinct, but Walter caught himself. "I just… It's going to be hard. There's a lot to… I have a lot to make up for."

"You can say that again."

"But I'm going to try my hardest. I love her."

Ralph's face softened. "I know you do. That makes it hurt even more every time you screw it up."

The statement made Walter want to fall through the floor.

"If you two get back together, I'll be happy about it. But if you hurt her again, I'll ruin your life." Ralph turned and continued on towards the front desk. Walter watched him go, suddenly feeling like his feet were glued down.

* * *

Walter and Paige both felt too sore to comfortably drive, so Michael and Cecilia, the only two of the students who had learned to drive yet, took over behind the wheel. Walter watched warily as Michael directed his car through the traffic exiting San Francisco. "Have you ever driven in traffic like this before?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever driven for seven hours in a day before?"

"No."

"Have you ever driven someone's car other than your own before?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever—" The car hit a small bump, which Walter felt in every patch of soreness on his body. He let out a groan.

"Walter, relax. Please."

"That's difficult."

"I know. But your anxiousness is making me more anxious." That was the longest sentence that Walter had heard the boy say outside of the Warlock's Chest.

Walter blinked, restraining himself from further comment. He winced as another small bump was struck, and considered writing a complaint letter to the city of San Francisco about the state of their roads.

"Just try to get some sleep," Michael suggested. "You're probably pretty tired after spending the night on that stone bench."

That was true. Walter shut his eyes, trying to push his anxiety aside and silence his mind.

He must have succeeded, because the next thing he knew, they were stopping for lunch somewhere along I-5. As they entered the restaurant, he was relieved to see Paige, Ralph, and Cecilia waiting at a table.

Cecilia waved them over. "Made it here in one piece?"

"Of course," Michael replied, taking the seat beside her. Walter sat down at the end of the table.

"Was he also as nervous as a cat surrounded by rocking chairs?"

Walter glanced at Paige, who grimaced at the comment.

"At first. Then he fell asleep."

"Lucky you. Want to trade?"

"Hey," said Ralph.

"No offense to either of you, of course. But your mother was making me more nervous than the driving was."

Michael shrugged. "If you want to." He looked at Paige. "I'm a good driver."

"At least you don't drive as fast as she does," said Ralph, "judging from how much longer it took you to get here."

Cecilia shrugged. "I'm efficient."

Walter generally favored efficiency, but in this case, he might make an exception.

"That said, you still beat them here." Ralph pointed towards the door, and everyone looked as Toby and Happy entered. They were closely followed by Cabe, Sylvester, and Tyler.

Lunch seemed to pass by too quickly, because it was all too soon that Walter was tightly gripping his seat as Cecilia swiftly navigated his car the rest of the way to LA. "You really do drive too fast."

"Oh, relax."

Walter shut his mouth and tried to relax his mind, the way he had managed to do while Michael was driving. But he didn't feel as tired as he had then.

"How old were you when you formed Scorpion?"

"Twenty-five. Why?"

"To have a team of geniuses solve problems?"

"Right."

"And Paige came along later, right? It was just the rest of you at first?"

"At first it was me, Happy, Toby, Sylvester, and Collins."

"Collins?" She looked at him, and the car trembled a little.

"Please keep your eyes on the road. Yes, Collins was a member of the team. But it didn't last."

"I can't imagine why." She changed lanes and accelerated, entirely unnecessarily.

"Why are you asking about the formation of Scorpion?"

It was a moment before she shrugged. "Just curious."

Walter caught the hesitation before the response. He had a feeling he knew why she had asked, but he decided not to bring it up while she was driving.

* * *

They were slowed down by traffic as they closed in on LA, and didn't arrive at the university as far ahead of the others as Walter would have thought, given Cecilia's pace. When everyone was there, they gathered with Ariel outside of the building that housed the students' garage.

Paige turned to Ralph. "Will you be able to focus on your schoolwork now that this case is solved?"

"Yes, Mom. Not that I couldn't focus on it before. You know how quickly I can get it done."

"I know." She kissed his forehead.

"Mom…" Ralph grimaced and pulled away from her, quickly glancing at his friends.

Cecilia placed her hand on his shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with a little affection from your mother, Boy Wonder."

"Boy Wonder?" Toby looked at Tyler. "I'm guessing that was your idea, you being the comic book fan?"

"Yeah. Maybe it's a little overused, but it fits him."

"That it does."

Ralph smiled and stepped back so that he was standing between Cecilia and Michael, with Tyler and Ariel on the flanks. Walter looked at the group, feeling like he was looking at a younger version of his own team. "Take care of him."

"We will, Walter," said Cecilia, her hand still on Ralph's shoulder. "We all take care of each other, whenever necessary."

Walter smiled, but then paused. He thought of everything that had happened over the past year, and the four years before that. He thought of the conversations, the confusion, the lessons that had needed to be learned. He thought of Miss Wallace, and Phantom, and all of the evidence he had encountered over the years of the importance of learning to communicate with normal people. "But also, make sure that he integrates. Not just with you, but with other people. People who are less like him."

"I'm standing right here, you know," said Ralph.

Cecilia nodded. "We will."

Walter turned to his own team, all of whom were looking at him with some degree of surprise. His eyes caught on Paige's face for a moment, noticing her small smile. "That goes for us, too. I'm making it a company policy. One night each week, we each do something that's outside our comfort zones. Something that forces us to engage with the rest of society."

"Seriously?" Cabe asked, making a face.

"Well, it's more for the four of us." He gestured to the other geniuses.

"Hey, I've got a huge comfort zone," said Toby. "I don't think I need to do this either."

"Yes, you do, Doc."

Toby looked at his wife. "Really? You're in favor of this idea?"

"As long as we get to step outside our comfort zones together each week." She took hold of his hand.

"That's fine," said Walter. He looked at Sylvester.

Sylvester was looking at him as though he were holding a handful of earthworms plucked straight from the dirt. "Who are you and what have you done with Walter O'Brien?" he muttered.

"I'm still me. I've just…" Walter gave a small shrug. "…learned."

Sylvester lowered his eyes. "You should know that I hate this idea. Scorpion is more than just a team. Its also more than just a family. It's a safe haven for people like us."

"It still is. But it can't be a place for us to hide from the world. I'm just asking that one night a week, we go out and engage with the general population. We all need to."

Sylvester sighed. "I know. I still hate it."

"You're the one who used to be an Alderman," Cabe reminded him.

"That was different. There was always a purpose to that, something that needed to be talked about. What Walter's suggesting is just… social."

"You'll get the hang of it," said Paige. "If you want, I'll go with you the first couple of times."

"I would appreciate that."

"It's settled then," said Walter.

Farewells were said, and the group parted, and Walter started walking back towards his car. Paige caught up to him. "Walter." The sound gave him only a moment's notice before her hands were on his arm, and she was pulling him around to face her.

"What?"

"That was impressive."

The way she was looking at him made his heart pound. "Thank you."

She leaned up and kissed him soundly.

He was stunned, and his insides started to float for a moment, until his better judgment pulled them back down, and he pulled away from her. "Paige…"

She was surprised for a moment, and then her face fell, as did her gaze. "I know, that was too hasty. I just… You really have learned."

"I have, but… I've hurt you so many times, and I need to…"

"Walter, you don't need to put yourself through some kind of penance. I plan to give you many chances to make up for everything."

"I can't ask you to trust me again. Even when I'm promising you…"

"I've always trusted you. That was never the problem."

"But last night, when you started crying…"

"It's true that you've hurt me many times, and it was all fresh last night, after you mentioned Florence. And I know that I've hurt you several times as well. Maybe neither of us was ready for this. But now…"

"What if we're still not ready?"

"What are your emotions telling you?"

"That I love you. That I want to be with you more than anything. But that I'm afraid of hurting you again."

"And mine are saying that I love you too, and that I also want to be with you more than anything. And yes, part of me is afraid to be hurt by you again. But the fact that we recognize that fear is as good a starting point as any, isn't it?"

"I promise that I'm going to do whatever I can to avoid hurting you."

"Walter, stop promising me things and just kiss me."

He hesitated for only a moment longer, then complied with her request.

She brought her arms up around his neck, deepening the kiss. He brought his hands to her waist and pulled her against him.

He didn't know how much time passed as they lost themselves in the long-awaited moment, but eventually they were brought back to reality by a voice. "Get a room, you two." The broke apart and both turned to frown at the interrupting student, but realized that he wasn't alone. There were several students watching them.

"I think we should continue this conversation elsewhere," Paige suggested.

"I agree." They continued walking. He looked down as he felt her hand reach for his, and their fingers laced together.

They walked right past his car, neither wanting to end the moment just yet. He was relishing her presence, and the feeling of her hand in his. It had been far, far too long.

"I think I should also partake in this new comfort zone rule of yours. Although, in my case, it would be less about engaging with the general population and more about… well, engaging with your subset of it."

He frowned, confused. "You talk to geniuses every day."

"I talk to the five of you every day. That's different than talking to… I'm talking about getting to know your world, Walter. Getting comfortable in the world that you love. That doesn't just go one way. If you can devote one night each week to engaging with people that you never would have spoken to five years ago, then I can devote one night each week to the same. I was thinking maybe we could start by attending a lecture."

He sucked in a breath and stopped walking, immediately knowing that her suggestion was not coincidental. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm not saying that I would be interested in the material, and I probably wouldn't have any idea about it after the fact, but I want to go with you."

He studied her face, not entirely sure that this wasn't some kind of test. But she seemed completely genuine. "Okay."

* * *

Walter took a moment to study the window with the chairs and telephones on either side of it. It felt like he had walked into a movie or television version of a prison, but this was real. He sat in the chair, waiting for the prisoner to be brought out opposite him.

There was a handprint on the glass. Walter stared at it, realizing that it was probably left by someone visiting a loved one, reaching out to get as close as they could to the person they were forbidden from touching. Even criminals still had people that loved them, and people that they loved.

Anna sat down opposite him. She looked a little bit the worse for wear, but she was still very attractive… very conventionally attractive. She looked confused for a moment, as if she couldn't quite believe that he was actually there, then picked up the telephone on her side.

Walter did the same. "Hi."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm assuming you heard the news?"

She merely stared at him for a moment. Then she gave the faintest of nods. "Mark's alive."

"Yes."

Her gaze lowered. "He couldn't tell me so himself."

"We offered to have the two of you placed in the same prison. He declined."

She grimaced. "He never really knew how to love me. I was always second to his goals, and his obsessions. Including you."

Walter frowned at the comment. "You deserved better."

"Thank you for saying that."

"You know, I had nightmares about you over the past several months. Many of them. You would kill everyone on my team. Everyone that I care about."

"I dreamt about the same thing."

"Do you still feel that hatred towards me?"

"No. Well, maybe there's a residual… imprint. But you didn't take from me what I thought you took."

"Likewise. I look at you and I remember my nightmares, my fear of you, but I know that there's no reason for it anymore."

She looked down for a moment, then back up at him. "You know that the problem we were trying to solve still exists. Our society is still going to destroy itself, if we don't stop it."

"Killing everyone who isn't like us is not the solution."

"You haven't presented a better idea."

"I'll work on that."

"Until you do, we're still enemies. I will never stop trying to save the world."

"Me too. And all of the people in it."

She studied him for a moment. "I hope that you can prove there is a better way. I look forward to you proving me wrong."

He studied her back, surprised by the comment. "I'll do my best."

"And I'm sorry about the nightmares. In the end, you didn't deserve them."

He gave a small shrug. "It's okay. They turned out to be helpful, in a way."

* * *

"Are you ready?" Walter asked.

"I should be asking you that," Ralph replied as he laid out the chess board between them and began setting up the pieces.

"Bold words."

"Our record against each other supports my confidence far more than it does yours."

"Touché. En garde."

The game unfolded at what to an outside observer would have been a remarkable pace. To Walter's chagrin, it quickly devolved in Ralph's favor.

"I'm thinking about joining the Chess Club at school."

"I think that would be a good idea. Although I doubt they would be competitive against you."

"I know. I think I would go easy on them, at least at first. I want them to like me." He hesitated for a moment, then gave a small shrug. "Especially the girls."

"The girls?"

"The Chess Club attracts people like us. Maybe it would be a good opportunity to meet girls who are more like me."

"What about Zoe?"

"Zoe has hinted that she would be amenable to dating when I'm older, but… she and I are pretty different. What if I'm better off being with someone who has more similar interests and social habits?"

"Well, you can meet girls and see what happens. But… falling in love isn't voluntary. You don't get to choose who you fall in love with, and you can't force it to happen."

Ralph looked up at him. Then his gaze passed over Walter's shoulder. "What are they doing here?"

Walter looked over as Paige and Toby entered the diner. "I invited them."

"I thought we were just here to play for old time's sake." Ralph glanced over at the bar where they had played their first match with the condiments.

"We are. But they can be a part of that, can't they? Maybe if we were more of a part of each other's lives, it would improve communication."

"I thought you guys would be playing with the condiments again," Toby remarked as he sat down beside Ralph. Paige had gone over to greet Nemos.

"No, we decided to use real pieces this time," Ralph replied. "For one thing, the condiments don't provide a full set, even with all the different kinds of jam they have."

"That never stopped you before. Need I ask who's winning?"

"No, you needn't," Walter replied. He looked over and watched as Paige talked to Nemos. She was being her automatically friendly and social self, and it was thrilling to watch. How did he deserve her?

Finally, she hugged Nemos and then walked over to the table. Her smile widened as her gaze fell on Walter, and he was lost to the world for a moment, unable to do anything but stare at her.

"Shove over a little," she said quietly as she scooted in beside him. He immediately complied. "Hi, Ralph."

"Hi, Mom."

"Are you winning?"

"Yes."

She gave Walter a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." He was pretty used to it by now. And Ralph was the only person he could ever lose to without feeling displeased about it.

"So, can I take a guess at why I was invited to this little family get-together?" Toby asked. "I mean, other than the fact that my wife is spending all day with Sylvester and Richard Elia."

"Only their skills were needed for the job. It was efficient."

"I know. Anyway, my guess is that it has something to do with it being a year to the day since you and I had a certain conversation in this very diner."

Paige and Ralph both looked at each of them in turn, confused.

"That's correct," said Walter.

"What conversation?" Paige asked.

"Walter developed a certain theory last year. I think he should be the one to tell you about it."

"I was attempting to get over you." He watched as her eyebrows rose, and a look of apprehension crossed her face. "I theorized that Ralph was the entire foundation of our relationship, and that my interest in you had manifested as an extension of my interest in him."

"Really?"

"It was a perversion of the scientific process. Hypotheses can never be intentionally driven towards a particular conclusion like that, or the results get tainted."

"As if that doesn't happen all the time," said Toby.

"Not by us."

"So, what did you conclude?" Paige asked, her voice a little tentative.

"That I fell in love with you, independent of my interest in Ralph. It's true that I engaged more with you because of my interest in him, and also vice versa. But the love developed separately. For both of you."

Both Dineens turned a little pink.

"Well put, 197," said Toby.

"Thanks." Walter looked at Paige and Ralph in turn.

Ralph looked down at the board, moving one of his pieces. "Checkmate. I should get back to school." He glanced at Toby. "May I?"

"Of course." Toby quickly got out of the way so Ralph could slide out of the booth.

Ralph stood, then leaned over to hug his mother. "See you next weekend." When he pulled away, he looked at Walter. "I… um… Thank you for saying that."

"You're welcome. Enjoy your classes. And everything else there."

"Thanks."

"Hey, do you want a ride?" Toby offered. "It'd save you some money, and I don't feel like third-wheeling right now."

"I'd appreciate that."

Toby glanced at Walter and Paige. "See you later." He followed Ralph out of the diner.

"He was my ride over here," said Paige.

"I guess I'm your ride back, then," said Walter.

"I guess so." She turned her face towards him. "What you said was very sweet."

"You asked what my conclusion was."

"I did. But no more theories intended to distance yourself from people, okay? Promise me."

"I thought you wanted me to stop promising you things."

"There will be some exceptions."

"Okay, then I promise."

"Good. Now I want you to do something else."

He was smart enough to know what she was referring to. Leaning in, he kissed her.


	17. Epilogue: Home

**A/N: Hey all. Once again, thank you so much to all of my awesome readers. I'm glad that you have enjoyed my writing and taken the time to journey with me through this vision of a _Scorpion_ continuation. Again, I'm not ready to leave the cyclone behind just yet, so keep an eye out for the sequel, Away from Home, which will star Ralph and feature the younger cast that I have introduced over the course of this story (although our beloved Team Scorpion members will still have roles to play). I look forward to seeing you there and continuing the story of these fantastic characters.**

 **Now, without further ado, enjoy this extremely fluffy bit of Waige. You all deserve it.**

 **Disclaimer: CBS owns _Scorpion_.**

 **Epilogue: Home**

"Oh garage, how I missed thee." Sylvester's words echoed Walter's thoughts as he looked around. He had made clear to the subtenants that there would be no renewal on their sublease, and they had vacated ten days before the expiration, in time for the team to celebrate the holidays at home.

They were finally back home.

But it wasn't home again yet. Walter quickly glanced towards the door. They had maybe forty minutes to get everything ready.

"Alright, the clock is ticking," Toby pointed out. "Let's go."

Walter quickly deposited the box he was carrying on his once and future desk and opened it, beginning to remove the contents.

The door opened, and Cabe came in. "No help from the traffic. It's clear all the way up."

"Then we work a little faster," said Walter, quickening his pace. "Happy, do you have—"

"Yup, I've got it. Toby?"

"Right here, love."

The place came together. Walter began glancing at his watch with increasing frequency as the time passed. They were cutting it close.

Then the door opened again, and Paige and Ralph entered. "Hey guys, I got here as fast as I could. I've got our money, though." She held up the check she had retrieved from a client in Orange County who couldn't be bothered to use the mail, then looked around the room. "Looks like you guys have already made great progress."

Walter went over to her, smiling. "Hi."

"Hi," she replied, greeting him with a kiss.

Now he was home.

"So, I'm flattered by the attention, but you didn't all have to stop working as soon as I entered the building." She walked further into the garage, and Walter fell into step beside her.

He gave a small shrug. "You just have that effect on people." She swatted his shoulder. "In all seriousness, though, you really are such an important person for all of us. You've taught us all such important lessons over the years, and we could never have made it through all of these trials without you."

She stopped walking and turned to him. "Walter, what is happening?" She looked around again, affirming that everyone was still looking at her.

Walter mirrored her. "And as for me, personally…" He paused for a moment, digging his hands into his pockets. "Five and a half years ago, I was one of the smartest men in the world, and I had no idea how little it mattered. I could hack into NASA, but I couldn't hold a conversation with a mailman. I could develop the most powerful antivirus program in the world, but I couldn't decipher the significance of a thank you card. I could stop an ICBM, but I couldn't stand a kiss on the cheek. You changed all of that. You showed me emotion, and empathy, and love. You added the color to my world, when I didn't even realize it wasn't there. As smart as I was before, I learned the most important lessons in the world with you. And as cliché as it is, you truly made me into the man I am today."

"Walter, you're not firing me again, are you?"

"No, not at all." His left hand reached the bottom of his pocket, pressing the button on the tiny remote inside. There was a chime from above, and a small, metal ball dropped from the balcony into a pipe and slowly began rolling.

"Another Rube Goldberg device? Didn't you do that for our first Christmas here?"

"This one's different." The ball reached the end of the pipe and dropped onto a lever, completing the first circuit. The word 'WILL' lit up in Christmas lights suspended above them.

"Who's Will?"

Walter chuckled a little at the question. "See, these past few months, since we've been back together, I've learned a new lesson, and that is that I'm still learning. I'm still learning what it's like to be someone who is happy, who is in love, who gets to spend each day with the love of his life. And I'm still learning more about you, this infinitely fascinating person who attracts me more with every gesture and every word. And I've realized…" He paused for a moment, glancing at the progress of the ball through the machine. He was going a little fast. "I've realized that I want to spend the rest of my life learning like this with you."

The next circuit was completed, and the word 'YOU' lit up above them. Paige stared at it for several seconds, her eyes slowly widening.

"I know it's only been a few months this time around, but our relationship has really been much longer than that, and much greater. From the moment I first saw you in that diner, you have been a giant in my consciousness, a shining beacon to always guide me in the right direction. I love everyone in this room, but you have been the single most important person in my life the whole time, regardless of what the nature of our relationship was at any particular moment. No matter how painful the bumps along the road, you were always the inevitable destination, waiting for me to finally grow into the man I needed to become."

Her eyes were fixed on the ball as it approached the third lever. She knew what was coming.

Soon, the word 'MARRY' was suspended above them, as brightly lit as the others. As Paige stared at it, Walter quickly glanced towards Happy, making sure that she had the final pipe properly aligned. She gave him a thumbs up.

God, he hoped she was correct.

Paige turned towards him, her eyes glistening and her hand over her mouth.

"Paige, I want to spend eternity by your side. I want every day of my life to begin and end with my hand holding yours. I want to be your partner as we tackle every problem the world has for us, and every moment of sadness, pain, and joy. I want to be there for you for every laugh and every tear." He listened for the sound as the ball fell into the last pipe and began rolling.

Happy held the pipe perfectly steady, and Walter assumed position, his knee on the floor and his hand facing upward. He had practiced kneeling so that his bones wouldn't be pressed too painfully into the hard floor of the garage, but he barely registered the sensation anyway as he glanced up at the pipe warily. In the split-second before the ball fell, he redid the calculations in his head a dozen times over, and moved his hand ever-so-slightly.

If he did one athletic thing in his life, let this be it.

The ball fell, and he caught it. He held it in both hands for a moment, returning his gaze to Paige. "I want to be your husband." Then he opened the ball, sending the signal to the final set of lights. Neither of them looked as the word 'ME?' lit up above them.

He let out all of his breath, awed that it had actually worked. He truly had an amazing team.

Her gaze fell to the heavily-cushioned interior of the ball. He had decided on a simple diamond ring, modest but elegant. After surveying all of the options of different metals adorned with colorful and complexly arranged gems, he chose the simplest, least ornate option he had seen. He truly couldn't envision her wearing any other.

Seconds ticked by without her saying anything, and Walter felt an anxiousness rise from deep within. Was she going to turn him down? Was it too soon? Then she finally spoke. "Ralph?"

That was an unexpected response.

"Yes, Mom, I knew about this."

She pulled her eyes away from the ring and towards her son, studying him.

Ralph glanced at the others as their eyes also shifted to him. "And yes, I know that I need to get better at stalling, but I didn't want to be too obvious about it."

"Well, I know the answer that I want to give," said Paige, "but I'm not the only one that needs to give it. Walter isn't just proposing to me. He's also asking if he can be your step-dad."

Ralph's gaze lowered, and then shifted to Walter. For a few seconds, he simply stared at Walter with an unreadable expression, and Walter felt like his every cell was waiting.

"There have been times in the past few years when I've been angry at you. Really angry. And I know that part of that is just adolescence, but part of it is because of all of the stupid things that you've done, and all of the ways you've found to hurt my mom over the years."

Walter felt his stomach drop at the words, and he wobbled a little on his knee, which was starting to hurt more.

"That said, I've also been much, much happier when you've been around, when you've been a part of her life and a part of mine. You were the first person who understood me, the first person who showed me how to be happy as who I am. Without you, I could never have accomplished everything that I have so far, and everything that I'm going to in the years to come. And I want you to be there watching every step of the way.

"What I told you months ago in San Francisco still holds true: If you hurt her again, I'll ruin your life. But as long as you two are together, and as long as you're always there for me just like you were before, I'm happy. So yes, Walter, I will be your step-son."

Walter smiled at him, and he smiled back. Then everyone looked back at Paige.

She was smiling at Ralph, and as the attention refocused on her, she looked down, and drew a breath before speaking. "Walter, you're not the only one who has been learning all this time. I've learned incredible things over these years, both from the team as a whole and from you individually. But most importantly, I've learned what an amazing man you are. And that isn't just how you've developed since we met. You were an amazing man before, even if you couldn't communicate that out to the world in full just yet. I didn't make you into a new person, I only helped to bring out the person that you already were.

"And the truth is that I fell in love with you long before that was fully accomplished. You were far from ready, and so was I, but I knew that when we reached the place that we were going, however long it might take, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."

Walter felt like he could float as he listened to those words. He no longer felt any of the pain from the floor.

"These past few months, you have made me incredibly happy. And yes, it's a short time, and we still have yet to fully make up for all of the times that we've hurt each other in the past, but I'm already well past any slightest doubt about what I want. I want to be with you, forever. I want to be your wife."

The smile that just kept spreading across his face must have looked extremely goofy by now, but he couldn't care less as he floated to his feet.

"Yes, I will marry you."

He pulled the ring from the ball and slid it onto her waiting finger. Then he leaned in and kissed her soundly.

"God, that went so much better than my first two proposals," said Toby. Walter and Paige broke apart as both started laughing. Happy smacked her husband's arm. "Ow."

"I never thought you would be one to propose in front of an audience," said Paige.

Walter gave a small shrug. "We're a team, a family, and more. We don't have secrets from each other anymore, and the more a part of each other's lives we are, the better off we all are. Besides, this was most definitely a team effort." He pointed up at the rig above them.

"Well, everyone did a fantastic job today."

"All in a day's work," said Toby. "Just imagine what we could have done if Ralph actually knew how to stall."

"Hey," said Ralph.

"I'm kidding."

"Well, as nice as it is to be with family, I think maybe you and I should go upstairs and resume this in a little more privacy," said Paige, giving Walter a look that made him immediately want to agree with anything she said.

"Right, that's our cue to find somewhere else to go," said Toby, turning to the rest of the team. "We'll finish unpacking the garage later. Come on, Boy Wonder."

As Walter and Paige turned towards the stairs, however, the door to the garage opened, and Candace strode in, looking all business. "Good afternoon, Team Scorpion. I hope you've got your genius caps on today, because we've got a serious…" She trailed off, looking at the scene around and above her. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Well, kind of," said Cabe, looking embarrassed on his girlfriend's behalf.

Happy glanced back at Walter and Paige. "Don't worry about it, we've got this. You two go celebrate."

Walter looked at Paige, and she looked back at him. "No," she said after a moment. "We've got all the time in the world to celebrate."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "If you are."

Walter stared at her for a moment, then turned towards Candace. "Team Scorpion is on it."


End file.
